Dangerous Connections Version Two
by JasonMorganfan87
Summary: Rewrite of my story 'Dangerous Connections'. After learning that there are targets on their backs, Tim and Gibbs learn that they have not only a common enemy but also common loved ones. How will they react to the news? And will they be able to protect themselves and the ones they love or will they all be killed
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own NCIS or any of its characters.**

**Dangerous Connects Version Two**

Tim walked into the bullpen of NCIS and headed for his desk. He had a very sour look on his face. He was not having a good day. It was the twenty-four of October. Not many knew this, but it was a day he hated with a passion. He had hated it every year for the past ten years.

"Hey, Probie," Tony said as soon as he saw him.

Tim simply grunted in response and sat at his desk.

"What's up with you McSourpuss?" Tony asked.

"Back off, Tony, okay? Just let me be today," Tim said before powering up his computer so he could get to work.

"Well, someone obviously woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. Come on, what's got your knickers in a twist?" Tony pushed.

"Tony, he has asked to leave him alone. He will talk about it if and when he wishes," Ziva said.

Tim gave her a half smile in appreciation. It was all he could muster at this point.

"Oh, McGee, Abby called a few minutes ago looking for you," Ziva said.

Tim groaned. He knew what Abby wanted. Abby was the only one on the team that knew what this day meant to him. He'd told her when they started dating. He felt he owed it to her. She'd deserved to know before they started any kind of relationship.

"You better not keep her waiting, Probie. Then you'll really have a bad day," Tony said with a grin.

Tim didn't really wanna go see Abby, but then again the sympathy he'd get from Abby couldn't be worse than sitting there and listening to Tony. So he got up and headed for the elevator.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Tim walked into the lab and found it strangely quiet. Usually the place was blaring with music. Today it was quiet. "Abby?"

Abby came out of her office and immediately went over to him and gave him a hug. "Hey, Timmy. How are you?"

"I've been better," Tim said before pulling away. "It's kind of quiet in here."

"I figured you wouldn't wanna come into loud music today. I know how hard this day is for you. It's gotta be harder this year. It's the big ten year mark. It should be a really happy occasion for you," Abby said.

"But it's not. Look, I appreciate what you're doing, but I just wanted this day to pass without what it means being addressed," Tim said.

Abby cringed. "I guess it's a little late now. Sorry," Abby said.

"It's okay. I know you mean well. Look, can we just forget about it now and go on like it's a normal day?" Tim asked.

"Can I ask you something first? Why don't you just end it? It would be pretty easy under the circumstances," Abby said.

"I should. I know I should. I should've done it years ago. I should've just ended it and moved on with my life. But I couldn't and I can't now. I just can't bring myself to," Tim said sadly.

"I really think you should. I know it'll be hard, but you can't go on like this forever. Letting go will hurt, but you'll be able to move on. You deserve that. You deserve to be happy," Abby said.

Before Tim could respond, his phone started ringing. "McGee. Yes, Boss, I'll be right there," he said before hanging up. "I'm needed in the director's office."

"Okay, I'll see you later. Wait, Timmy, I know I'm not the one you wanna hear it from, but I think you should hear it at least once. Happy anniversary."

"Thanks, Abs," Tim said with a fake smile before walking away.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Tim made it back to the bullpen less than five minutes later. From there, he climbed the stairs to the director's office. He walked past Vance's assistant and into his office. He found Gibbs standing in front of the director looking none too pleased. "You wanted to see me, Director."

"Yeah, you gonna tell us what's going on now?" Gibbs asked impatiently. Vance had called him up there but refused to tell him anything until McGee got there.

"McGee, have you noticed anything strange lately?" Vance asked.

Ti frowned. "Like what?"

"Like the feeling that you're being followed?" Vance asked.

"What? No. Who would be following me?" Tim asked. He couldn't think of anyone who would wanna follow him. Any enemies that he had wouldn't be following him. They might try to kill him, but they wouldn't follow him.

"I don't know, McGee, but someone is," Vance said before holding out a file for him.

Tim took the file and opened it up. He was immediately greeted with pictures of himself that were obviously taken from a distance. There were pictures of him coming out of a coffee house, leaving his apartment, even pictures of him and his team while at crime scenes. "Oh my God."

Gibbs leaned in to see what his agent was looking at. He then looked at Vance with an angry look on his face. "Where the hell did these come from?"

"Metro found them. The person who took them was recently shot and killed. He had the pictures on him when he was found," Vance said.

"Who was it?" Gibbs demanded to know. He wanted to know who exactly was targeting one of his people and why.

"They don't know. He didn't have any ID on him. It's up to you to find out. The case is being turned over to us now since it seems one of ours was this guy's target," Vance said.

Gibbs turned to Tim. "You're staying with me until this is over."

"Boss, that's not necessary. I'll be fine on my own," Tim said.

"Not up for debate, McGee. This bastard had you under surveillance while you were working. None of us had any idea you were being followed. We're obviously dealing with pros here, so we're not taking any chances. It's either with me or in a safe house with two guards," Gibbs told him.

Tim sighed. He didn't like either choice, but one was slightly less imposing than the other. "With you, Boss."

"Thought so. Let's get to work," Gibbs said before walking out of the room.

Tim sighed and followed his Boss. Oh, yeah. This was the worst day ever.


	2. Chapter 2

A few minutes later, Gibbs and Tim were back in the bullpen with the rest of the team. Tony, who had been on the phone, hung up and turned to Gibbs. "Boss, that was Metro. The body and evidence gathered it "on route, it'll be here soon. They're faxing a photo of the body over now though."

As if on cue, Tony's fax machine went off and a photo slowly appeared. He immediately took it out.

Tim went over to his colleague and took the picture. The man had black hair and brown eyes. "I've never seen this guy before. I don't know who he is."

Gibbs walked up to him. "He was probably a hired gun, McGee. You wouldn't know him."

"But I should've at least seen him. He's been following me for a few weeks at least. I should've seen him at least once. God, I should've known someone was following me," Tim said. He felt like an incompetent idiot. He was a federal agent for God's sake. He should be aware of his surroundings. He should know when he's being watched.

"McGee, none of us knew. Look, there are photos of you with the rest of us at crime scenes," Ziva said as she held up a photo of Tim and Tony in NCIS uniforms outdoors. "None of us noticed that someone was watching you."

"I can't believe someone had the nerve to follow one of us while we were on the job," Tony said.

"Alright, McGee, you've gotta think. Who has a reason to stalk you like this?" Gibbs asked.

"I don't know, Boss. I can't think of anyone who would wanna have me followed or any reason for them to do it," Tim said honestly.

"There's gotta be something," Gibbs said.

"It's could be about a case, Boss. I mean, we do make a lot of enemies with what we do," Tony said.

Gibbs wasn't so sure of that. If it were about a case, they would all be targets. Still, he'd consider the possibility. He wouldn't assume it wasn't about a case. Now wasn't the time to go breaking his own rules.

"Start going through our cases from the last few months. See if anyone looks good for it. Focus on McGee's part in all of them," Gibbs ordered.

"We're on it, Boss," Tim said before moving to go back to his desk.

Gibbs grabbed his arm to stop him. "Not you. I need you to keep thinking about who would do this."

"Boss, I told you, I don't…" Tim trailed off at the look his boss was giving him. "I'll keep thinking," he said before going to his desk and sitting down.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Tim was still seated at his desk. He'd thought as hard as he could about who could be following him and why, but he'd come up absolutely nothing. Other than on the job, he had no real enemies. No one had any reason to stalk him like this.

Tim was soon pulled from his thoughts when Tony walked through the bullpen carrying an evidence box. "Evidence is here, Boss," he said before bringing it over and putting it on Gibbs' desk.

Tim and Ziva got up and followed Tony over to see what they had.

Tony opened the box and began going through it. He pulled out the file and handed it to Tim.

Tim opened it and immediately started reading. "Hispanic male listed as a John Doe. He was shot in the back of the head. That's really all that's here."

"Yeah, there's not much else here either. We've got samples of his blood. I'll send that to Abby. We'll have to wait on Ducky for the bullet. Oh, here's his cellphone," Tony said as he took it out.

"McGee," Gibbs said simply.

"On it, Boss," Tim said before taking the phone from Tony and going back to his desk to fiddle with it.

"Tony, go ahead and take the blood to Abby. We need to find out who this guy is now," Gibbs said.

"Uh, Boss, I have some texts here, but they're in Spanish," Tim said.

Ziva went over to him. "Let me see, McGee."

Tim immediately handed her the phone.

"Well, there are no names used, but the dialog is very telling," Ziva said.

"Read 'em," Gibbs ordered.

Ziva immediately began reading aloud. "'We have been following them for months and there is still nothing."

"Them? What do you mean them? I thought he was just tailing McGee," Tony said.

"Maybe there are more pictures of the rest of us elsewhere. So maybe it is about NCIS," Tim said.

"I do not think it is about NCIS. I do not even think it is really about you," Ziva said.

"Why?" Tim asked.

"Because the text goes on. It says, 'There is no contact on either end. I say we kill them and draw the bitches out,'" Ziva read.

"So what, Probie's bait? And who else is targeted. He keeps saying 'them'," Tony said.

"Keep reading, Ziva," Gibbs said. He wanted the answer to Tony's question too. He was hoping it would be in the texts.

Ziva read to herself for a minute and then looked up in confusion. "This does not make sense.

"What does it say?" Tim asked.

"It says, 'Fine, but only kill one of them. Kill the boy. The girl will come out of hiding to avenge her husband," she read.

"Well, that obviously isn't about McGee. It must be one of the other targets," Tony said.

Gibbs, meanwhile, was staring at McGee. The younger man's face was drained of all color and he looked to be shaking. McGee obviously thought the texts were him. "McGee?"

Tim looked at his boss. He knew he looked as terrified as he was. There was no possible way for him to hide it. "I... Boss, I..."

"Elevator," was all Gibbs said before getting up and leading the way.

Tim got up and followed his boss, completely oblivious to the confused looks Tony and Ziva were giving him.


	3. Chapter 3

Gibbs stepped inside the elevator and waited for McGee to do the same. He then waited for the doors to close and hit the emergency switch. "You got something you wanna tell me, McGee?"

"I…I think that last text was about me," Tim said. He wanted to be wrong. He wanted more than anything for the person he loved more than anything to not be involved in what was going on right now, but he got the very horrible feeling that she was.

"You married, McGee?" Gibbs asked. It was possible that the bastard who'd sent that last text had been wrong, that he'd made assumptions he shouldn't have, but McGee's demeanor said otherwise.

"Yeah. Yeah, Boss, I'm married," Tim admitted.

"How long?" Gibbs asked.

"Ten years to the day. It's my anniversary today," Tim said. And what an anniversary it had been. This had been the worst yet. He didn't really like this day in general, but this had been the worst one yet. Not only did he have to spend his anniversary without his wife, but now there was a hit out on him and his wife. He wasn't sure it could get any worse.

"You've been married since before you started here? You dated Abby," Gibbs growled. He was pissed. Abby was like a daughter to him and McGee had used her to cheat on his wife. Never in a million years did he think McGee could do that, but he was admitting to just that.

"It's not like that, Boss. Abby knows I'm married. I told her before things got serious," Tim said.

"She knows," Gibbs repeated skeptically. He found it hard to believe that Abby would get involved with a married guy. That wasn't the kind of person she was.

"Yeah. Look, it's a very complicated situation. I love my wife, but I haven't seen her in nine years," Tim said.

"What?" Gibbs asked in confusion.

Tim laughed humorlessly. "You think you're confused? Try waking up one morning to find your wife gone. There was no warning. I just woke up and she had disappeared. All that was left was a 'Dear John' letter telling me that she was leaving and she wasn't coming back. She said I should move on with my life. Like I could do that. Like I could just pick up my life like she didn't exist."

"Nine years, McGee? Why didn't you file for divorce?" Gibbs asked. McGee would've been able to get a divorce easily, even without his wife being around. Actually, it would be easier because her not being there would be a reason for it to be pushed through quicker. She'd deserted him after all.

"I…I can't. I've accepted that she's not coming back. I took the rings off and everything, but I can't bring myself to end my marriage. Because I don't want it to end," Tim said. He really did know he shouldn't hold on like this, but he couldn't help himself. He loved his wife so much. The idea of severing their relationship officially was just too much to bear.

"You don't wanna let go," Gibbs said. He got it. He understood wanting to hang on, even when realistically you know there's nothing left to hang on to. After Shannon and Kelly died, he refused to change anything in his house for nearly a year. He wouldn't even move their things an inch because that would mean he was letting them go. "Alright, let's focus on the case. If that last text was about you, that means you're bait for your wife. Any idea who would wanna hurt her?"

"No. God, I can't think of anybody with any reason to wanna hurt her. I mean, she's not a cop and she doesn't work with sensitive material. She's a computer programmer for God's sake," Tim said. That was actually how the two of them hit it off. They'd met while he was doing some temporary work for a computer company a couple of years before he joined NCIS. They'd hit it off. It really just made no sense for someone to be after her. It made more sense for them to use her to get to him.

"Well, someone obviously does," Gibbs said.

Tim shuddered. The idea of someone wanting to hurt his wife terrified him. He wouldn't be able to handle anything happening to her. He lived with her leaving him, but he couldn't live with something happening to her. That would shatter him.

"What's her name? We have to find her," Gibbs said.

"Kelsey. Kelsey Gilbert," Tim said. That was her full name anyway. The people she was close to called her Kelly, but Gibbs didn't need to know that. It would probably upset him as his own daughter was called that.

"Any idea where she might be?" Gibbs asked.

Tim shook his head.

"Any idea who the other woman or women might be?" Gibbs asked.

"What?" Tim asked in confusion.

"There was more than one woman mentioned in the texts," Gibbs reminded him.

Tim thought for a minute. The answer came quick. It was Kelly's mother. She would be involved in whatever Kelly was. The two of them were always close. Actually, the three of them were always close. His mother-in-law told him on more than one occasion that she considered him her son. The feeling was very much mutual. She was more of a parent to him than either one of his. In a lot of ways, her abandonment hurt worse than Kelly's because of that fact. "Her mother. It has to be her mother."

"And her name?" Gibbs asked.

"Sharon. I really don't understand this, Boss. I don't understand why anyone would wanna hurt either of them. They're great women."

"We don't have all the answers, McGee. We will get them. However, this may give you one answer. You've spent the last nine years wondering why your wife left you. This might be your answer. It's very possible she was trying to protect you," Gibbs said. He doubted knowing that would make the hurt and anger go away, but at least McGee would be able to find some solace in the fact that his wife probably didn't leave him because she stopped loving him.

Tim considered that. Gibbs was right. There was a good chance this threat had been after Kelly for a long time now. All this time he'd thought she left because she no longer loved him, but maybe she had been trying to protect him. It still didn't make it okay though. He would've preferred her tell him the truth and let him help. "I don't wanna be protected, Boss. I wanna help her the way a husband is supposed to. We have to find her."

"We will. We'll find them both. There's something else we need to talk about though. The guy who wanted to kill you is dead. He was trying to draw your wife out. There's a possibility he already did," Gibbs said.

Tim stared at his boss, who was staring at him very intently. He shook his head as soon as he realized what Gibbs was implying. "No. No, she didn't do this. She's not a killer."

"Tim, this guy was going to kill you. If she loves you even a quarter as much as you love her, do you really think she wouldn't consider it? Wouldn't you do it?" Gibbs asked.

Tim kept shaking his head. "No, you don't know her."

"Neither do you apparently," Gibbs said. He wasn't trying to hurt the kid, but he wanted him to realize that he might be wrong about what his wife was capable of.

"I know she wouldn't kill anyone. I'm done talking about this," Tim said firmly before flipping the switch back on. He'd never spoken to Gibbs like that, but he wasn't going to listen to his wife being called a killer. He just wasn't.


	4. Chapter 4

A few hours later, Tim walked into Abby's lab to find it blaring with music and her working hard at her computer. "Abby!"

Abby immediately turned around. "Timmy," she said before launching herself into his arms. "I heard what happened. Are you okay?"

Tim pulled away. "I've had better days."

"I can't believe someone's trying to kill you. Who would wanna hurt you?" Abby asked. She couldn't think of any reason for anyone to hurt McGee. He was the nicest person in the world.

"You didn't hear that much, huh?" Tim asked. He then explained everything they'd learned about the people that wanted him dead and why.

"So someone's using you to get to your wife?" Abby asked.

"It seems that way. Though I can't think of any reason anyone would wanna hurt Kelly. She's an amazing woman. She'd never hurt anyone," Tim said.

"I thought your wife's name was Kelsey," Abby said.

"It is. Her mother calls her Kelly though and she asked me to do the same," Tim said.

"Oh. Whenever I hear the name Kelly, I think of Gibbs' daughter. I guess it's a common name though. How are you doing with this?" Abby asked. She knew he couldn't be doing all that well. His wife was in serious danger, and despite the pain and anger, she knew he still loved her very much.

"Not great. There are people out there who want to kill my wife and the woman I consider more my mother than the woman to actually bring me into this world, and they're trying to use me to do it," Tim said stressed. He was absolutely terrified. This was his family. They might not have been around for years, but Kelly and Sharon were still his family and he couldn't bear the thought of anything happening to them.

"Yeah, it is bad. At least now though, you know Kelly didn't leave you because she stopped loving you. She left because she wanted to protect you," Abby said.

"Yeah, Gibbs said the same thing. And you're right, that probably is the reason, and it does take the pain of thinking she stopped loving me away, but she still left. They both still left. It still hurts and it still makes me angry. Nobody asked me if I wanted to be protected," Tim said with anger in his voice.

"Still, it means they love you. That's more than you believed this morning. And you still love them, McGee. It's like you said, they're your family. You were hurt by them, but you still love them," Abby said.

"Yeah," Tim admitted. He did still love them. He couldn't deny that. He loved them more than anything. Nothing that had happened in the past could change that.

"Maybe you can get them back. Maybe you can stop the danger, whatever that is, and be with your family again," Abby said. She really hoped he could. She knew how much Tim missed his wife. No one else was able to compare to her. She was the love of his life. The fact that he never filed for divorce and could never move on was proof of that.

Before Tim could respond, he heard noise coming from Abby's computer telling her that she had some kind of match.

"That's the results from the blood Tony gave me," Abby said before going over to the computer.

Tim followed her. "Well?"

"The guy who tried to kill you is Juan Garcia. He's got quite the rap sheet. He was brought in on drug and robbery charges since he was eighteen until twenty-two. Then there's nothing," Abby said.

"I guess it's on me to find out what happened after that. Thanks, Abs," Tim said before walking away.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

An hour later, Tim was sitting at his computer trying to find out information on Garcia. He finally found what he was looking for. "Boss, I got it. Juan Garcia was born in Mexico and was brought here when he was five. He became a citizen a year later. After his last arrest when he was twenty-two, he returned to Mexico. That was eight years ago. He came back to the US three months ago."

"Any idea where he lives?" Gibbs asked. They needed to get into his apartment and see what they could find to figure what all of this was about.

"Yeah, I looked that up too. He lives in my apartment building. He' a floor down from me," Tim said somewhat unnerved.

"Man, Probie, this guy really was stalking you," Tony said in a concerned voice. This was all really scary. He had to wonder how close his friend really was to being murdered.

"Alright, let's go. We're checking out that apartment," Gibbs said before standing up.

The rest of the team grabbed their gear and followed Gibbs towards the elevator.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Twenty minutes later, the team was in Garcia's apartment collecting evidence. Tim was looking through a desk in the corner. He'd come to a desk drawer that was locked. He fiddled with it for about ten minutes and then managed to get it open. Inside, he found more pictures. What surprised him was that they weren't pictures of him.

Tim jumped up and rushed over to Gibbs. "Boss, I've got more pictures here. These ones aren't of me."

Gibbs took the pile of photos Tim was holding and found himself face to face with himself. There were pictures of him leaving and returning home, getting coffee, there were even pictures of him leaving the grocery story.

Now Gibbs was pissed. How had this bastard managed to follow him without him knowing it? He prided himself with knowing everything that was going on around him. He didn't know this though. He had no idea anyone was following him.

"Boss, this doesn't make sense. I mean, we knew he was following me and why, but why would he follow you. You have nothing to do with my wife," Tim said.

It was a good question? Why was he being followed? If this was about McGee's wife and mother-in-law, it made no sense to come after him. He had never even met either woman. "Don't know, McGee, but I will find out."

Xxxxxxxxxxx

That night, Tim followed Gibbs into his house. "Boss, I should be back at the office trying to figure out who's after us, or at least working to locate my wife and mother-in-law."

"Nothing's getting solved tonight, Tim. All sitting at your desk will accomplish is running yourself ragged. That won't help anyone, least of all your wife. You need to eat and get some sleep. There are takeout menus on the counter in the kitchen. Look through them and figure out what you want. I'll be back in a minute," Gibbs said before heading upstairs.

Tim sighed and went towards the kitchen. He wasn't hungry, but he knew a direct order when he heard it.

Tim had just started flipping through the menus when he felt something press on the back of his head. He knew what it was immediately. The trigger end of a gun.


	5. Chapter 5

Tim went completely still when he felt the gun on the back of his head. He knew he was dead if he made a false move. Oh, who was he kidding? He was dead anyway. This man wanted him dead and he had him right where he wanted him. He wouldn't even be able to put his hand on his gun before he was dead.

"Listen to me very carefully, kid. Take your gun out slowly and put it down on the counter," the man behind Tim said quietly, but with a deadly tone.

Having no other choice, Tim slowly reached for his belt and took his gun from it. Then, just as slowly, he placed it on the counter. "If you kill me, you're as good as dead. My boss is upstairs and he will kill you before you even make it out of this house.

"Take two steps towards the living room and then turn around.

Tim slowly walked sideways a couple of steps. He immediately noticed the pressure from his head disappear. He then turned around to get a look at the man. It was causation man who looked to be in his fifties with balding brown hair. He also looked like a force to be reckoned with. "Who are you?"

"Call me, Nick. And I have no intention of killing you. That would make saving your ass kind of redundant, wouldn't it?" Nick asked before putting his gun away

"What?" Tim asked in confusion.

"You don't think that SOB following you got dead on his own, do you?" Nick asked with a smirk.

Shock became evident on Tim's face. "You killed Juan Garcia? Why?"

"To keep him from killing you. I thought I was clear on that," Nick said.

"Why would you care if I live or died? And what the hell was this about? Why put a gun to my head if your goal is to save me?"

"It's called self-preservation. You carry a weapon and you have a price on your head. The last thing I need is to startle you and have you shoot first and ask questions later. It was better to disarm you first. As for your other question, it's not about caring whether you live or die. I was hired to do a job and I will do that job to the best of my ability," Nick said.

At that moment, Gibbs walked in. He had his gun out in a second. "Who the hell are you?"

"I think he's some kind of body guard, Boss. He said he's here to protect me," Tim said. There was some skepticism in his voice. Sure, the guy hadn't shot him, but that didn't mean he could be trusted.

Gibbs glared at the man in front of him. "Protect him, huh? Exactly what are you protecting from?"

"Not my place to explain and no time to do so. He's got a price on his head and I'm sure you're right behind him. I've got orders to get him out of here now. You weren't mentioned, but that has more to do with the fact that the person who asked me to do this doesn't know you're in this," Nick said.

"I don't know what you're talking about, but no one's going with you," Gibbs said firmly with his gun still aimed at the man.

Nick laughed. "Well, I'd be concerned if you did agree to go with me without a fight. But you will come or you'll die. You don't matter so much since they think you're dead anyway. He's another story."

"Who is 'they'?" Tim asked.

"Rather than give you an explanation you won't believe, I'll let someone else do it for me," Nick said before going to reach into his pocket.

"Hey! Keep your hands where I can see them!" Gibbs yelled.

"If I wanted to kill you, I would've done it before either of you even knew I was here," Nick said before continuing into his pocket and pulling out his cellphone. He pressed a single button and placed the _phone to his ear. "Yeah, it's me. I'm here, but like we figured, I'm being met with resistance._

After a second, Nick handed the phone out for Tim. "She'd like a word."

Tim frowned in confusion, but took the phone and placed it up to his ear. "Hello."

"_Hello, Tim,"_ a female voice said.

Tim recognized the voice immediately. It had been nine years since he heard it, but she was for all things that mattered, his mother. He wouldn't forget her voice. "Sharon? Sharon, is that you?"

"_Yes, it's me. I need you to listen to me very carefully and do exactly what I say. Your life is in extreme danger right now," _she said seriously.

"Yeah, I know. There was a guy following me and he planned to kill me. He's dead now," Tim said.

"_He's only one of about a hundred. Your life is in extreme danger. I'm sorry, Tim. We didn't want this to touch you, but it has and we have to act fast. You need to go with Nick now. He will protect you."_

"What? You want me to just go with some guy I don't know? No, I can't just do that. You have to tell me what's going on first," Tim said. He was sick of this. He was sick of the lies and the games. If Sharon wanted something from him, she had to tell him what was going on first.

"_Listen to me!" _She said in a very stern and fierce voice

Tim stopped immediately. It wasn't often he heard that tone of voice from the woman, but when he did, it was no different than when Gibbs used it. Disregarding it was essentially suicide. "I…I'm listening."

"_You are going to do what I say here, Timothy. You are going to go with Nick now and he's going to bring you to me. I am not going to let you place your life in jeopardy because you're angry with us! This is not up for discussion! Do you understand?"_

"Yes, ma'am," Tim said. He couldn't help himself. He felt very much intimidated right now. In fact, there was only one person in the world that could intimidate him like that and he was standing just a few feet away from him.

"_Good. Listen, I know you're upset right now. You have a right to be. I am going to explain this to you later, but right now, I need you to be safe. So please do what I say," she said. Her voice was much softer this time. _

"Okay," Tim said before handing the phone back to Nick, who stepped out of the room.

Gibbs, who'd since put his weapon away walked over to his agent. "What the hell is going on, McGee. Did you just agree to go with his bastard?"

"Well, it was more like I was told I was going with him, but same difference I guess. The woman on the phone was my mother-in-law. She can be just as intimidating as you in her own way," Tim said.

"We'll see about that. This isn't happening, McGee. You're not going off with this guy just because some strange woman told you too," Gibbs said firmly.

"Boss, she may be strange to you, but she's not to me," Tim said.

"Isn't she? She's been lying to you since you've known her," Gibbs reminded him.

Tim cringed slightly as he was reminded of his family's betrayal. It did strike a nerve, which he was was his boss' intention. "That may be true, but she's still my family. She's not your typical mother-in-law. She's been more like my mother. I wanna see her and I wanna see my wife. God, I wanna see my wife. So, yes, I am going to go. I'm going to see my family. Wouldn't you do the same if you were me?"

Gibbs stared at Tim for a minute. He wanted to berate him some more, but how could he? How could he fault McGee for wanting to see his wife when he longed for the same thing every day? "You're not going alone. If you're doing this, I'm going with you."

"I think that's what the plan was anyway," Tim said.

"Grab your gun and let's go. You're not leaving without it," Gibbs said before walking towards the living room.

Tim grabbed his gun off the counter and followed.


	6. Chapter 6

Gibbs kept looking at his watch as they drove. They'd been in the car now all night. It was nearly seven in the morning. His didn't like this. He was in a car with a stranger with a gun going God knows where to meet more strangers. This went against every instinct in him. The only reason he'd even agreed was because McGee was gonna go no matter what he did and there was no way he was letting him go alone.

Gibbs looked over at Tim. The younger man looked almost as anxious as him, but it was likely for other reasons. He wasn't afraid. He believed he was perfectly safe right now. He was just anxious to see his family again. Gibbs supposed he couldn't blame him for that, though he wished the young agent would exercise a little more caution right now. They were walking into an unknown situation.

Tim looked over at his Boss. He could tell the man did not like the position they were in right now. He couldn't blame him. From an agent's perspective, it wasn't exactly the best idea. "Boss, I know you don't like this, but it's the right choice."

"If these people are telling the truth, maybe, but what if they're not. What if this guy is the threat and he intimidated your mother-in-law into getting you to go with him?" Gibbs asked. The thought had occurred to him multiple times since they left. This could all just be a ruse to get them away somewhere.

Tim chuckled. "Trust me, Boss, the only intimidation going on was on her part. She's in charge here, not him," he said as he nodded towards Nick up front.

"If you're so sure this is the right call, why'd you say no at first," Gibbs said. He'd heard the phone call from Tim's side. He'd told his mother-in-law no in the beginning.

"Because I was angry. I hadn't spoken to Sharon in nine years. When I finally hear from her, she tells me to go off with someone who had just put a gun to my head. I wanted an explanation," Tim said.

Gibbs narrowed his eyes at Tim. "He put a gun to your head?!"

Tim looked like a deer caught in the headlights. "Oh, I didn't mention that, did I?" There was a reason he hadn't mentioned it too. Gibbs would never have agreed to this if he'd told him that. It was just that in his sleep deprived state, he'd forgotten that he hadn't mentioned it.

"You agreed to get into a car with a man who put a gun to your head? Are you crazy?" Gibbs asked in disbelief. He couldn't believe the stupidity. McGee was smarter than this. He was an agent for God's sake. Though he shouldn't have to be an agent to know not to trust someone who held you at gunpoint.

"It was only for a minute, Boss, and if he wanted to kill me, he could've done it right then and there without a problem. He wanted to disarm me, he didn't want me dead," Tim said.

Before Gibbs had a chance to respond, the car was pulled into a driveway at the end of the street they were driving on.

Nick stopped the car and turned to Tim and Gibbs. "Let's go."

Tim and Gibbs immediately got out of the car. Gibbs had his hands on his gun as they walked into the house. He was going to be prepared in case this got bad.

Tim looked around. He was in a spacious living room that held a dark blue couch, a matching loveseat across from it, a glass coffee table in the middle, and TV stationed in front. There were no signs of Sharon or Kelly though. "Where are they?"

"Hopefully upstairs packing," Nick said.

"Packing?" Tim asked.

"Yeah, you've all gotta be moved to a new location. You didn't really think this was it, did you, kid? What'd you think that one meeting and the danger surrounding all of you would go away? Sorry to tell you, but you said goodbye to your life last night," Nick said.

"What the hell's that supposed to mean?" Gibbs demanded to know.

"I'm going to find out," Tim said before taking a step towards the stairs to go find his wife and mother.

Gibbs grabbed ahold of Tim's arm to stop him. "Hey. You're not going anywhere alone."

"Boss, I'll be fine. I need to find out what's going on. I need to talk to Sharon, and I need to do it alone," Tim said. He knew if Gibbs came up with him, he'd just start barking orders. Sharon wouldn't take well to that. She was a very understanding woman most of the time, but she could also be very fierce, especially when it came to her family. If Gibbs accused her of trying to hurt him, she wouldn't respond well. "Look, I'll only be upstairs. You'll hear if anything happens."

"McGee, I swear to God, if anything happens, the head slap I give you will compare to none other you've ever had," Gibbs growled. He didn't like this. He downright hated this, all of it, but McGee felt he knew what he was doing and he would trust that for now. Besides, he wasn't all that crazy about leaving this Nick guy alone down here. He wanted to keep an eye on him.

"Yes, Boss," Tim said with a slight smile before heading upstairs. He started calling out as soon as he got to the top. "Sharon? Kelly?"

The door to one of the bedrooms opened and a young woman with long, light brown hair and piercing blue eyes stepped out. She smiled as soon as she laid eyes on Tim. "Tim."

"Kelly," Tim said as he stared at his wife intently. She was just as beautiful as he remembered, maybe even more so. God, he'd missed her so much. He couldn't believe that after so long, he was finally with her again. He'd given up hope a long time ago that this would ever happen.

After a few moments, Kelly walked forward and wrapped her arms around her husband. "I've missed you so much, Tim."

Tim hugged her back fiercely. He felt tears stream down his eyes almost immediately. He was so happy right now. No matter how angry he had been over the years, and still was, he loved this woman more than anything in the world. He was glad to have her back in his life, back in his arms.

Kelly pulled away after a minute. "I know I'm a day late, but happy anniversary."

Tim chuckled a little. "You too. Where's your mother?"

"She'll be back soon. She just went to pick up some supplies," Kelly said.

"Supplies for what? What's going on? The guy that brought us here said that life as I knew it was over."

"Yeah, Nick can be kind of an ass. His job is to ensure our safety though and he does that very well," Kelly said.

"Who's after you, Kelly? Why would anyone wanna hurt you? I can't think of anything you guys could do to anybody that would make them want to hurt you," Tim said.

"Come on," Kelly said before grabbing her husband's hand and leading them into her bedroom. She brought him over to the bed and they sat down. "It's not about what we did, it's about what we saw. Or more accurately, it's about what my mother saw. I was a kid at the time. My mother saw a murder and she decided to testify against the killer. She wanted to do the right thing. She didn't know how much it would change her life or mine."

"So the people that are after you are the people she testified against?" Tim asked.

"She didn't get the chance to testify. They tried to kill us first. The only reason we're alive is because of Nick. He saved our lives. We've been hiding ever since. The guy that Mom was going to testify is dead, but the people he worked for want us dead on principal. They're not going to stop until we're dead." Kelly said.

"Why not go to the police? They'll stop them," Tim said.

"It's not that simple. The cops can't stop all of these guys. They're too powerful. One of them is stopped and another just takes his place. The danger will never go away. That's just something we've come to accept over the years," Kelly said.

"So these people came after me to try to get to you guys. They were hoping to lure you out of hiding. What does this have to do with my boss though?" Tim asked. That part was still very unclear. What was Gibbs' role in this?

Kelly frowned in confusion. "Your Boss? What are you talking about?"

"My Boss was being targeted too. He's downstairs right now. The guy that was following me was following him. Hard to believe anyone being stupid enough to follow Gibbs, but he was," Tim said.

Kelly stared at her husband in astonishment. "Did you just say Gibbs?"

"Yeah, my Boss. His name's Gibbs," Tim said.

"What's his full name?" Kelly asked. Her heart was beating about a mile a minute as she anticipated her husband's answer. It couldn't be, could it? No, it couldn't. He'd died over twenty years ago in battle.

"Leroy Jethro Gibbs. Why, what's wrong?" Tim asked. His wife had become more and more pale the more he spoke. Something was definitely off and it had something to do with Gibbs.

Kelly jumped up raced out of the room.

Tim immediately chased after her. "Kelly, what's wrong?!"

Kelly ran downstairs. She stopped at the landing and stared. He was there just a few feet away from her. Her blue eyes met his. She recognized him immediately. It didn't matter how many years had passed or how much either of them had changed. She knew him. "Dad."


	7. Chapter 7

Gibbs stared at the young woman in front of him in absolute shock. He knew who she was even before she spoke. It didn't matter that it had been so long since he'd seen her or that it should be impossible. It appeared that the clichés were true. A parent knew his own child when he saw her.

Gibbs took a few steps forward and tentatively reached out to touch the woman. It was almost like he thought if he touched her she'd disappear. She didn't though. He touched her and she was still there. "Kelly?"

Kelly nodded. "Yeah."

Gibbs immediately pulled his daughter into his arms and held her as tight as he could without possibly hurting. He couldn't believe this was actually happening. He'd dreamed about it so many times, but he never thought it would become a reality. "Oh my God. I've missed you so much, sweetheart."

"I missed you too, Daddy," Kelly said as she began to cry in his arms. She'd missed her father like crazy. She loved her mother very much and couldn't imagine life without her, but she always longed to have her dad back in her life. There were so many times she wished he could've been there, the most memorable being her wedding day. It just never seemed possible because she thought he was dead. Yet, here he was holding her in his arms.

Tim watched the scene in front of him in amazement. To say that he was shocked would be an understatement. When Kelly looked at Gibbs and called him Dad, he thought for a second he imagined it. How could it be true? Gibbs' daughter was dead. She was murdered by the Reynosa Cartel when she was a child. Although, now that he thought about it, the story Kelly had begun to tell him and the one about what happened to Gibbs' wife and child were very similar.

Tim started to think about all the similarities between his family and Gibbs' and soon started to wonder why he hadn't seen it sooner. His wife and Gibbs' daughter had the same name and they were around the same age, Sharon had a similar name to that of Gibbs wife, Shannon, and she was a redhead just like her. And now there was the whole story about Sharon, or Shannon as it seemed she actually was, seeing someone murdered and agreeing to testify. It all fit.

Gibbs finally pulled away after a good couple of minutes. He put his hands on the sides of Kelly's face and just stared into her eyes. "I… How is this possible?"

"I was gonna ask you the same thing. We thought you were dead," Kelly said.

"What? Why would you think that?" Gibbs asked. That made no sense. It was Kelly and Shannon that were supposed to have died, not the other way around. Why would his daughter think he was dead.

"We were told that you were killed in battle right around the time the Reynosa Cartel attempted to kill us," Kelly said.

"No. No, I got word that you killed by the Cartel while I was overseas. Pedro Hernandez shot the NIS agent you were driving with, causing an accident that killed you both." Gibbs said.

"No, we were never in that car. Nick had been hired by that point and he had taken over protection. We did get word about it though and we were moved at that point. That… that was when we were told you were dead. Right before we were told that we had to go into hiding. It was all a ruse to make sure we'd go," Kelly realized. She couldn't believe it, but this had been done on purpose.

"Who? Who told you that?" Gibbs asked. He wanted to know who had decided to destroy their lives so he could properly take them apart.

"Nick. He said he got word about it from Grandma. Wait, where is Nick?" Kelly asked as she looked around. She hadn't seen the man since she made it downstairs.

"He left. Said he left everything we needed on the table for your mother and then headed out. He said to call to tell her to call if there were any problems," Gibbs said.

"Coward. He knew that when Mom found out she'd tear him apart," Kelly said. Her mother was going to blow a gasket when she found out. She was going to be happy that she had her husband back, but she was going to be absolutely pissed by the lies of his death.

Gibbs was angry too, but he was more angry about the mention of Shannon's mother. She knew that Shannon and Kelly were alive and didn't tell him, worse, she tried to blame him for their deaths. Even worse still, she apparently told his girls that he was dead. What kind of cold woman did something like this? "You mentioned your grandmother. She knew?"

"Yeah, she hired Nick to protect us. She pays him even now," Kelly said.

"Let's sit down," Gibbs said before leading his daughter over to the couch and sitting down. "I can't believe it. This whole time I thought you were dead and you thought the same thing about me. It's unbelievable."

Tim watched his wife and his boss get reacquainted. Actually, to be more accurate, it was his wife and father-in-law. And with that thought, Tim began to completely panic. The shock of it all had kept it from really hitting him, but Gibbs was his father-in-law. He was married to Gibbs' daughter. He was a dead man. Gibbs was going to kill him before those that wanted them dead even had the chance to get close to him. Actually, Tim wondered if it might actually be less painful to let them kill him instead of Gibbs.

"So where's your mother?" Gibbs asked. Now that he was reunited with his daughter, he wanted to see his wife. He wanted to hold her his arms and know that she was really there.

"She went to get some things for the road. She should be back any minute. She's going to be so stunned to see you. She'll be so happy of course, but shocked nonetheless," Kelly said.

"Well, I know how she'll feel," Gibbs said. He was certainly shocked. A part of him was still waiting to wake up from this incredible dream.

Tim headed towards into the kitchen and towards the back door. He needed some air. Also, he thought it might be a good idea to get some distance between himself and Gibbs. It wouldn't be long before the shock wore off and Gibbs finally realized that Tim was married to his daughter. It was best that he not be in the same room when that happened.

Tim had just made it outside when he saw a car pull up. He watched as Sharon, or Shannon got out of the car.

Shannon ran up as soon as she saw her son-in-law and started pulling him into the house. "What are you doing? Get in the house! It's dangerous out here. I can't be sure that you guys weren't followed. Come on."

"I'm pretty sure it's safer out here," Tim mumbled to himself as he allowed himself to be pulled back into the house.

"What?" Shannon asked.

"Nothing," Tim said.

"Kelly, are you ready? We should get out of here as soon as possible!" Shannon called through the house.

"Uh, Mom, you gotta come in here!" Kelly called back to her mother.

Shannon immediately ran towards her daughter's voice in the living room. "What is it? What's…?" She stopped speaking and completely froze when she saw who her daughter was with. She spoke almost inaudible when she saw him. "Jethro."


	8. Chapter 8

Shannon could hardly believe what she was seeing. She didn't think there was anything that could shock her anyway, but finding the husband she thought was dead for twenty years sitting in her living room was too shocking for words.

Gibbs stood up from the couch and slowly made his way over to his wife. "Shannon."

Shannon hesitantly raised shaking hand and touched his cheek. "Jethro?"

Gibbs too her hand and kissed it gently. "It's me, baby."

Shannon stared at him for a minute and then launched herself into his arms. "Oh my God. I can't believe you're really here. I thought I'd lost you."

Gibbs held her tightly and smiled like he never had before. This was literally the happiest day of his life. He had his wife and daughter back in his life, the one thing he always wanted, but never thought would happen. It was a dream come true, literally.

Shannon pulled away after a minute. "I don't understand. You died."

Gibbs shook his head. "No. Your mother lied. I didn't die in the war. I felt like I was dead inside though. Shannon, you spent the last twenty years believing I was dead and I spent the same amount of time believing you were. I was told that you and Kelly were killed in that car accident with your NIS detail."

Shannon shook her head vigorously. "No. We were never in that car. We were supposed to be, but at the last minute, my mother had hired Nick to take over protection. There was no need for us to be with the agent anymore. Oh my God! After that accident, Nick came up with the plan to fake our deaths and move us. He said he was going to make it look like we were in that accident and then he would move us. By then I thought you were dead. Oh My God, I'm so sorry." She felt so guilty. She'd agreed to that course of action and inadvertently allowed her husband to think she and their daughter were dead.

"Shh, it's not your fault. You didn't know. Everything's okay now. We're together and no one will ever keep us apart again," Gibbs said before leaning forward and gently kissing her on the lips.

Meanwhile, Kelly went over to her own husband, took his hand and leaned into his side. She too was deliriously happy. Not only did she have her husband back in her life, but she also had her father back. Nothing could ruin this moment.

Tim was smiling as well. He momentarily forgot the fear for Gibbs and even the anger and pain for Kelly and Shannon as he watched the two people in the world that acted like parents to him finally find happiness themselves. He always knew Gibbs was unhappy after the 'deaths' of his family and he even knew there was a sadness in Shannon. Now that at least could go away.

Shannon pulled away from her husband again. "Okay, wow. You have no idea how much I wanna just stay like this forever, but we can't."

Gibbs sighed. "The Reynosa Cartel. You're worried about them."

"There's a reason to be worried about them. They're very dangerous, Jethro, and they want all of us dead. I know they're after me and Kelly and now Tim. I'm sure you're on the list too. We have to get a move on," Shannon said. She wanted more than anything to just stay there with her family and shut everything else out, but that would be very foolish and she hadn't survived so long by being foolish. There would be time for better reunions later when they were all safe.

Gibbs shook his head. "It doesn't have to be this way. We can fight them."

"By what? Going to the police? I played that game, remember? It nearly cost me and our daughter our lives and it forced us into this. You can't stop the entire Cartel. One goes down and another will just step up. Safety is always going to come at a price for us. That price is remaining in hiding and holding onto a very high dose of paranoia," Shannon said.

"There has to be another way," Tim said. Like Gibbs, he didn't love the idea of being on the run. He was an agent. It was in his nature to try to find another solution.

Shannon turned to Tim. "Come here."

Tim was slightly hesitant as his fear of Gibbs was back and being that close to Gibbs seemed kind of dangerous, but he went over.

"You both have to listen to me right now. If we go back to DC, we're all dead. They will kill the two of you just to get to us, and you can bet they'll kill us. The only way to stay away is to stay one step ahead of them, and the only way to do that is to be out of their reach," Shannon explained.

"You want me to run," Gibbs said. That was so hard for him. Running away like a coward was not in him. The very thought seemed wrong.

Shannon sighed. "Jethro, I know that this goes against everything you are. You're a marine. Your instinct is to fight. But there is such a thing as a fight that can't be won. This is it. You can't beat the entire Cartel. If you try, they will kill you. They will kill us if we go back as well. And if it was just me, it might be a risk I'd be willing to take, but I will not take it for them," she said as she glanced at Tim and then Kelly.

"If the danger is so bad, why did you leave me behind?" Tim couldn't help but ask. He needed answers to that. He needed to know why the two people who had mattered most had walked out of his life without a word.

"Because I thought that maybe you would be safe if we were out of your life. It was a naïve thought on my part. I should've realized that eventually the Cartel would realize who you were to this family and come after you. I'm sorry for that," Shannon said.

Gibbs looked over at his agent. It was at that moment that he remembered exactly why they were brought there to begin with. He'd forgotten momentarily due to the shock of having his family back and then having Shannon explain the situation, but now it dawned on him. His family was McGee's family too. McGee was married to his daughter. Oh, they would be having words very soon.

"Tim, I wanted you to be safe. I wanted you to have a life that didn't involve running from place to place and having to look over your shoulder every day. That's not possible now. They will kill you to get to us and I won't let that happen. So you need to listen to me very carefully. I've told you this first part before, but I'm going to say it again. You are as much mine as Kelly is. I will not allow anything to happen to you. So I wanna be very clear on this. This is not a choice you have. You will come with us because I will not wait to hear news of your death," Shannon said firmly. This young man was her son in every way that could ever matter. She would do anything to keep him safe, even if that meant forcing him into a life that was not particularly ideal.

"Hey, I'm not arguing. In fact, I resent being protected in the first place. I don't love the idea of running, but I like the idea of living without you and Kelly even less. If being with you means being on the run, so be it," Tim said.

Shannon shifted her gaze to her husband. "I can't give you the same speech. I can't force you to do this with us. I can beg you though and I will if that's what it takes. I can't lose you again. The first time nearly destroyed me. The only thing that kept me going was Kelly. I don't know if I'd be able to survive it again."

Gibbs glanced at Tim for a second. He still really wanted to kill the kid for being married to his daughter and he still just might, but the younger man was right about one thing. Life without Shannon and Kelly was worse than any type of life with them. "You were right when you said running goes against everything in me. The very idea seems wrong. But not more wrong than walking away from you. I could never do that. I'm not gonna stop trying to find a way for us to go back, but I'll be damned if I let you leave my life again. If going with you on the run is the only way I can be with you now, so be it."

Shannon smiled and hugged her husband tightly. "Thank you.


	9. Chapter 9

Gibbs was sitting in the living room while Shannon and Kelly got ready to go. He could hardly believe he'd agreed to this. He wouldn't have agreed twenty years ago. Hell, he wouldn't have agreed today if it were anyone else. But he knew what it felt like to lose Shannon and Kelly. It was a fate worse than death. He couldn't go through it again. Shannon had made it very clear that she was not going to go back. She wouldn't risk Kelly's life or Tim's.

Tim's relationship with Shannon still through him for a loop. The kid knew them in ways he didn't, especially Kelly. He was married to her. That pissed him off. The idea of his little girl having that kind of relationship with any man had him wanting to beat said man to a pulp. In his mind, she was still the little girl he knew twenty years ago. He would also admit that he was mildly annoyed that his agent knew his family in a way he didn't. He knew it wasn't McGee's fault, but still.

Gibbs was soon pulled from his thoughts by the sound of his cellphone. He took it out and saw that it was Tony. It wasn't unexpected. It was after nine and neither he nor Tim was in the office. Of course it would sound off alarm bells in the senior field agent.

Gibbs was torn by the call. He wanted to answer it, but he knew it was a bad idea. That was hiding 101. You don't stay in contact with those you're leaving behind. Answering a call from Tony would put his family and the team back home in danger.

"You can't answer it, Jethro."

Gibbs looked up to see his wife in the doorway. "I know. That doesn't mean I have to like it though. It's one of my agents."

Shannon walked further into the room. "Your agents."

Gibbs nodded. "After your 'death', I resigned from the marines and joined NIS, now NCIS. Been there ever since. That's how I know McGee. He's one of my agents."

"Well, isn't that ironic," Shannon said as she sat down across from her husband. "Tim has always expressed a desire to join NCIS.

"You know a lot about him," Gibbs stated. It wasn't a question.

"And that bothers you," Shannon guessed.

"No. It bothers me that he knows so much about you. I've known McGee for the better part of the last decade and the whole time he had a connection to my family that I never knew about," Gibbs said. He kept thinking about that. McGee had real knowledge of his family. The kid could've been the key to getting them back sooner if the right thing had been mentioned earlier. And again, he knew that wasn't McGee's fault, but was still irritating to realize.

"He didn't know about it either, Jethro. He didn't even know our real names. He thought Kelly's name was a nickname. We didn't want to involve him in this. Though in hindsight I realize that by bringing him into this family, we involved him," Shannon said. She would never regret Tim being a part of her family. He was her son and she loved him very much. But she did realize that the danger to Tim's life was caused by her and Kelly bringing him in. She'd foolishly believed that the danger had died down at the time and she'd convinced herself that they and Tim would be safe.

"Then why did you?" Gibbs asked curiously. In the short time that he'd been with his wife today, he'd noticed major changes in her. She was extremely overprotective and extremely cautious. It didn't seem like she would just let someone new in so easily.

"Because the danger didn't seem so bad for a while. I naïvely thought that maybe the Cartel had forgotten about us. Actually, I think I just told myself that to justify it. I wanted Kelly to have a chance at happiness and Tim did that for her. She loved him so much," Shannon said.

Gibbs cringed. The last thing he wanted to hear about was how much his daughter loved a man, any man.

Shannon noticed the look on her husband's face and chuckled. "Yes, I know how hard that is for you to hear. To you, she's still that little girl that you last saw twenty years ago. Though I'm not sure it would be much different if you did watch her grow up. You're her father and to you no one will ever be good enough. I'm sure you're just waiting to have a go at Tim. It's not gonna happen."

Gibbs raised an eyebrow in a 'oh really' kind of way.

"Don't give me that look, Jethro. I'm immune. Tim is a good man and I happen to consider him my son. I won't let you go after him because you can't accept the fact that your little girl is no longer a little girl," Shannon said firmly.

Just then, Tim and Kelly came into the room. "I'm ready, Mom."

"Okay, let's get out of here," Shannon said before standing up.

Gibbs got up as well and went to grab his phone, but Shannon stopped him at the last minute.

"No, Jethro. You can't take it with you. It has a GPS. Besides, if you take it, you'll be tempted to answer it if it rings," Shannon said before grabbing it from the table and proceeding to take the battery out. She wanted to make sure no one tracked them there with it.

Gibbs didn't stop her. He knew she was right. He couldn't have it with him and it was better that he not be tempted with phone calls.

"Give me yours, Tim," Shannon said.

Tim hesitated. He knew that this was for his protection, but his phone was the only way his sister could contact him now if she needed to, and while the people currently with him were important to him, she was too.

"Tim," Shannon pushed.

"I…I can't. If my sister needs me and I don't have this to answer her calls… I can't do that," Tim said.

"Baby, you can't help her now," Kelly said as gently as she could.

Shannon walked over to Tim. "Look at me."

Tim did as she asked.

"I know this is difficult. I know how close you are to your sister, but Kelly's right. There's nothing you can do for her. Staying in touch would just put you and her in danger," Shannon said.

"So you just want me to walk away. Let her think I've abandoned her like she was nothing. It's that easy for you?" Tim asked bitterly. He was no longer just talking about Sarah.

"Hey," Gibbs said angrily before standing up and glaring at his agent. There was no way in hell he was gonna let McGee talk to his wife like that.

Shannon put her hand up in her husband's direction to tell him to stay out of it before addressing her son. "No, it's not that easy. There is nothing easy about it. Walking away was the hardest thing I've ever done, and it will be for you too, but there is no choice, not if we wanna stay alive."

"And if these guys come after Sarah?" Tim asked. This was starting to really hit him. He'd agreed to all of this because he wanted to be with his family, but the downside was really hitting him hard.

"I don't think that's going to happen. They came after you because of your connection to us. Your sister's connection to us is only though you. I don't think they'll bother with her," Shannon said.

"But you can't promise that," Tim said.

Shannon sighed. "No, I can't, but she'll be mor in danger if you stay in contact. I'm sorry, but this just isn't a choice. You need to give me your phone now."

Tim still didn't wanna do it, but he knew Shannon was probably right. Staying in touch would probably put Sarah at more risk. So he handed his phone over, as well as all connections he had to the life he had just yesterday.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: This story takes place in season eight, so Mike Franks is still alive.**

Tony was on the phone trying to get ahold of Gibbs for like the fifth time to no avail. The phone only rang the first time. After that, it went straight to voicemail, which was not a good sign. It most likely meant someone shut it off, and he doubted that person was Gibbs. First of all, Gibbs probably wouldn't know how to shut it off, and even if he did, he wouldn't.

Tony slammed the phone down when it went to voicemail once again. "Damn it!"

"Still nothing," Ziva said as she held the phone to her ear. While Tony was calling Gibbs, she was calling McGee.

"No, you?" Tony asked.

Ziva shook her head and hung up the phone. "It just went to voicemail again."

"This is bad. This is really bad," Tony said. Their boss and their partner were both missing and there was a hit on one if not both of them. Tony doubted it could get much worse.

"Perhaps their batteries died or they are in an area that doesn't have service," Ziva said. She knew she was clasping at straws, but she had to try. The alternative was not something she wanted to think about.

"Both of them? Both their cells died? How likely is that? Not to mention, how likely is it that it would happen the day after we learn that they are both being followed and there is a price on McGee's head and probably Gibbs' too. Rule thirty-nine, Ziva," Tony said.

Ziva sighed. She knew he was right. Their team members were in a lot of trouble and they needed their help. "Maybe we should go over to Gibbs'."

Tony nodded. "Yeah, let's…"

Tony was cut off by the sound of Gibbs' desk phone ringing. He stood up and immediately went over to answer it. He barely got the chance to put the receiver to his ear before the person on the other end started ranting.

"_What in the hell is going on over there, Probie? I've been calling your cell for the past hour! Where have you been? And what the hell are you lot up to. I just…"_

"Mike?" Tony interrupted. It had been a few months since anyone had heard from Mike Franks, but anyone who knew him would recognize his voice the minute he started talking.

"I….I don't know," Tony said.

"_What the hell do you mean you don't know?!" _Mike yelled into the phone.

"Exactly that. We're having the same problem reaching him as you are," Tony said.

Meanwhile, Ziva made her way over to Tony with a confused look on her face. She'd gathered that Tony was speaking with Mike Franks, but that was all she knew.

"_Oh, hell! What in God's name are you people into?! Abby called me and asked me to look into some SOB that spent a lot of time up my way," _Mike told Tony.

"Juan Garcia," Tony said.

"_Yeah, him. You mind telling me what the hell you people are doing mixing up with the Reynosa Cartel again?"_ Mike asked irritably.

"What?!" Tony asked in shock.

"_As in the bastards responsible for the loss of my trigger finger. Your boy was working for them. Now what's going on?" _Mike asked.

Tony collapsed into Gibbs chair. "I don't know. All I know is that Juan Garcia has been targeting Gibbs and McGee. We had no idea that he…"

"_McGee? What the hell does the Cartel want with your probie?" _Mike asked.

"It's his wife and mother-in-law. Somehow they must be involved with them," Tony said. He couldn't figure out what the Reynosa Cartel could have against McGee's wife and her mother though, nor could he figure out what any of it had to do with Gibbs. He'd almost think that the interest with Gibbs was separate since he had history with the Cartel, but that would make this whole thing with Gibbs and McGee a coincidence and that brought up rule thirty-nine again.

"_Back that train up, DiNozzo. Since when is McGee married?" _Mike asked.

"Apparently since before we met him. We just found out yesterday. Believe me, we were all shocked. Apparently the Mrs. took off nine years ago without a word. We think she did it to protect him now. Anyway, these guys have been following him for a while now and they recently put a hit out on him. They were following Gibbs as well," Tony explained.

"_And Where's McGee now?" _

"He's missing too. He went home with Gibbs last night. Neither of them has been seen since and both their cells are either off or dead," Tony said.

"_Perfect, just perfect!"_ Mike yelled.

"We were about to head out to Gibbs' place now. I can call you when we know something else," Tony said. He assumed Mike would want to be kept in the loop with what was going on.

"_Don't bother. I'm grabbing the next flight out. You can tell me about anything you find in person."_

Tony then heard the phone go dead and then he hung up.

"What is going on?" Ziva wanted to know.

"This just got worse," Tony said.

"Worse than McGee and Gibbs being missing and having a price on their heads?" Ziva asked skeptically. She found it difficult to believe it could get worse than that.

Tony nodded glumly. "Yeah, much worse. The price on their heads? It was put there by the Reynosa Cartel."

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Tony and Ziva pulled up to Gibbs' house an hour later. The first thing he noticed was that Gibbs' car was parked in the driveway.

"Maybe they are still here," Ziva said.

"Yeah, and maybe the sky will turn green and the earth will become flat. If they were here, they would've answered their phones when we called," Tony said. As much as he wished he could believe Gibbs and McGee were in the house safe, he knew better. So did Ziva. She was just trying to cling to a strand of hope. He couldn't really blame her for that.

"I suppose we should go inside," Ziva said.

"Yeah," Tony said before stopping the car and getting out. He took out his gun and led the way into the house. He then motioned for Ziva to check the upstairs while secured the main floor and the basement.

Ziva nodded and headed up the stairs.

Tony immediately checked the living room and found it to be empty. He did the same with the kitchen and dining room before heading downstairs to the basement. Again, he found it empty. Then he went back upstairs to do a more thorough search. He wanted to see if anything was out of place.

Tony checked the living room first. He immediately noticed a set of keys on the table belonging to Gibbs. They were his car keys. It wasn't all that unexpected since Gibbs had left his car.

Ziva came back down at that moment. "No one is upstairs."

"Nothing down here either. There's no sign that anyone was here that didn't belong," Tony said.

"Maybe we should be comforted by that fact. If Gibbs and McGee had been taken, there would be some sort of struggle. Gibbs would never back down without a fight," Ziva said.

"I'm still not all that comforted. Gibbs' car and car keys are here. He wouldn't just leave without them," Tony said. It just didn't make sense. Ziva was right that there should be more evidence of a struggle if Gibbs and McGee had been forcibly taken, but they wouldn't just take off on foot somewhere and turn their phones off. Suddenly a thought hit Tony, but it wasn't a very comforting one. "Maybe it was a surprise attack. Maybe they got one of them while they were alone and forced the other to go willingly out of fear for the other's safety.

"It would have to be McGee," Ziva said. There was no way anyone had just gotten the drop on Gibbs like that.

Tony nodded in agreement. "Say they were lying in wait. Gibbs goes upstairs or to the basement when they get home and McGee gets cornered. Maybe he's knocked out from behind. Gibbs comes into the room to find McGee unconscious and probably with a gun to his head. It's the only way he would go willingly."

"To protect McGee," Ziva said.

"We should get our gear from the car. This is a crime scene. We need to go over the place with a fine tooth comb. Hopefully they left something behind," Tony said.

"I will get it," Ziva said before turning and walking out the front door.


	11. Chapter 11

Several hours later, Tony and Ziva were back at NCIS. Tony was once again on the phone trying to get ahold of Gibbs and McGee, and once again, he was getting nowhere.

"Tony, they are not going to answer," Ziva said.

Tony slammed the phone down. "I can't just sit here and do nothing, Ziva. There was literally no evidence at Gibbs' house. What the hell are we supposed to do, just sit on our asses?" He wasn't good at this. He wasn't good at sitting by and doing nothing, especially when the people he cared about were in trouble.

"When will Mike Franks be here?" Ziva asked. She figured it couldn't be long. He'd said he was getting the next flight and that had been nearly six hours ago.

"Ask and you shall receive, my dear," A gruff voice said from behind them.

They both turned to see Mike there and they immediately stood up. "Mike, hey. We're glad you're here," Tony said.

"Any word?" Mike asked.

Ziva and Tony both shook their heads.

"Fill me in on everything. I want every single detail from the minute this crap started," Mike said.

Tony quickly briefed Mike. He told him everything from the moment they found out McGee was being followed to when they left last night.

"What did the texts say exactly?" Mike asked as he sat down in Gibbs' chair.

"That McGee and someone else were bait for the, quote, bitches. They were gonna kill McGee in hopes that his wife would come to avenge him," Tony said.

"And you assume that this someone else that was mentioned was Gibbs?" Mike asked.

"Yeah. We found pictures of him in Garcia's house just like the ones found of McGee. What we can't seem to figure out is a connection between the two. I mean, obviously the Reynosa Cartel is a connection for Gibbs, but I have to think that the thing with McGee's family and Gibbs is connected," Tony said.

"But the question is how. Gibbs never met McGee's wife or mother-in-law. They were gone before McGee even met Gibbs," Ziva said.

"Tell me you people have at least started looking for these women. If anyone can tell us the connection, it's them," Mike said.

"Yeah, they're Sharon and Kelsey Gilbert. Kelsey is the one McGee's married to. We're looking for them, but so far we haven't found anything other than from the time McGee told us about. A Kelsey Gilbert did work at a computer company from 2000 to 2002. That's when she took off. There's no trace of her or her mother before or after that. It's like she doesn't exist," Tony said.

"She probably doesn't," Mike said.

"You think they were aliases?" Tony asked.

"Think about it, Probie. These women are being targeted by the Reynosa Cartel, one of the most dangerous groups in Mexico. They can't just go on living their lives as themselves and expect to survive," Mike said.

"Well, this still leaves us nowhere. We don't know where they are and we don't know where Gibbs and McGee are," Tony said.

"What'd you find at Gibbs' place?" Mike asked.

"Nothing. Gibbs' car was in the driveway and his keys were on the table. That was all. There was no struggle or even any sign that anyone besides Gibbs and McGee were there. Hell, there's barely a sign that they were there. We think they cornered McGee while he was alone and knocked him out. Then persuaded Gibbs to go with them by threatening McGee," Tony explained.

"No way in hell," Mike said right away. There was no way these idiots got that kind of upper hand on Gibbs, and if by some chance they did, there's no way he would've left without leaving some kind of evidence behind.

"He would've gone to save McGee," Ziva said.

Mike shook his head. "He would've known that it wouldn't have saved him. Besides, even if he was stupid enough to go, he would've left something behind. He would've found a way."

"Well, then what do you think happened?" Tony asked.

Mike thought for a minute. Honestly, he had no idea what could've happened. He tried to get into the mind of his probie, but he couldn't think of any reason for the man to willingly leave his place without his car and turn his phone off. Still, there had to be an explanation, one that didn't involve him willingly going with drug dealers because that just wasn't possible.

"God, why didn't I just check the GPS after the first time I called?" Tony asked kicking himself. If he'd just done that, they might have found them before the phones were turned off.

"Wait, you got through the first time? Why the hell didn't you tell me that?" Mike asked irritably.

"I didn't think it mattered," Tony said.

Mike got up and went over to Tony. He then promptly wacked him upside the head.

Tony winced. That one had been really hard, harder than any of Gibbs'. He was suddenly very glad he never worked for Mike Franks. He might have brain damage by now.

"Of course it matters, moron! Everything matters. It means he shut the phone off himself," Mike said annoyed.

"Not necessarily. They could've shut it off when they heard it ring," Tony said.

"That makes no sense. That would be stupid and the Reynosa Cartel would not be around today if they were that stupid. They would've gotten rid of those phones the minute they got their hands on Probie and McGee.

"But why would they shut their phones off. I do not think Gibbs would even know how," Ziva said. It was no secret that Gibbs and technology didn't work well with each other. He still went through about five phones a month.

"McGee does though. But you're right, it doesn't make sense that they would shut them off. Unless maybe they're hiding. Maybe they got wind of someone at the house and had to get out on in a hurry," Tony said.

"Gibbs does not hide. He would confront the people after him," Ziva said.

"Unless they were surrounded. Maybe they had to get out quick and felt safer on foot. It makes a lot less noise than to drive. And shutting their phones off keeps them form possibly being tracked by the Cartel. Though why they'd wait all night to do it and why they haven't tried to contact us doesn't make sense," Tony said.

"Nothing makes sense," Ziva said.

"You guys checked Gibbs' place, but did you check McGee's?" Mike asked.

"No. McGee hasn't been back to his place since we found out there was a threat on his life. Gibbs insisted he go home with him until it was over," Tony said.

"Doesn't mean there's not something there that can help us figure out what the hell is going on. If these bastards went to Gibbs', it's likely they went there too," Mike said before he started for the elevator. After realizing the others weren't following him, he turned around to glare at them. "What the hell are you lot waiting for? Get your asses in gear!"

Tony and Ziva immediately scrambled out of their chairs and grabbed their gear.

"Is he our boss now?" Ziva asked quietly.

"It seems so. I miss Gibbs," Tony said as they both followed Mike to the elevator.


	12. Chapter 12

Gibbs was sitting in the front seat next to Shannon as she drove. He occasionally looked in the back at McGee and Kelly who both appeared to be sleeping.

Shannon glanced at her husband. "Jethro, you should get some sleep. I'm guessing you didn't get much of that last night."

"That's not gonna happen," Gibbs said. He didn't dare to so much as close his eyes. He was terrified that if he did, he would wake up from this amazing dream he must be having.

Shannon seemed to figure out exactly what her husband was thinking. "We're not going away, Jethro. It's not a dream. And you can't afford to be overtired, not in a life like ours. It could be deadly.

"Have you ever been attacked?" Gibbs asked. It got the feeling they had and that didn't sit well with him. The idea of his wife and daughter being in peril while he was thousands of miles away unnerved him. He should've been around to protect them.

Shannon sighed. "We've had close calls. Guns and fast cars have saved our asses many time."

"Yeah, I never thought I'd see you with a gun," Gibbs said. He had been thrown for a loop when right before they left he witnessed Shannon and his daughter each strap a gun to their belts.

"Neither did I. There are a lot of things I never thought I'd do. I had to acclimate very quickly to this life. That meant being prepared to do things I wouldn't have done before. It was the only way to stay alive," Shannon said.

Gibbs shook his head. "The idea of you having to do that, any of it… It shouldn't have happened."

"But it did. That's all that matters," Shannon said.

"Do you regret it? Agreeing to testify?" Gibbs asked.

"Yes and no. Testifying was the right choice. It was the right thing to do. I knew it was risky, but not testifying because of possible danger seemed cowardly. It still seems cowardly. I don't think I would've been able to live with myself if I hadn't agreed to do it. That being said, if I knew the chain of events that doing it would cause, I doubt I would've. I wouldn't have been able to justify putting our daughter through that" Shannon said. Agreeing to testify had been the right decision in her mind, and in a lot ways she still believed it was, but it came at a very heavy price that she didn't foresee. If she had, she wouldn't have done it because it wasn't just her that had to pay it.

Things were quiet for a few minutes before Gibbs spoke again. "Pedro Hernandez didn't even live a year."

"What?" Shannon asked.

"He was shot and killed in Mexico not long after he tried to kill you. He was killed much like the NIS agent that was protecting you was. He was shot in the head while driving by a sniper," Gibbs said. He felt he had to tell her. She needed to know what he'd done to avenge them, even if she was mad as hell about it.

Shannon glanced back and forth between her husband and the road. He knew what she was saying. He'd killed that man out of revenge. "Twenty years ago I would be screaming at you right now. The idea of you killing someone for me is not something I would've wanted to even think about. But I'm not who I was then. I was someone who had never had her child put in jeopardy. I am now. In fact, it happened just recently. When Nick told me a hit had been put on Tim, I instructed him to do whatever he had to do to save his life. I knew very well what that meant. I didn't say the words, but it was very clear to both of us that I was ordering a murder. I didn't care then and I still don't. I did what I had to do to save my son, and should he have God forbid been killed, I would've done worse. So I get it."

Gibbs glanced back at Tim. "He really matters to you, doesn't he?"

Shannon nodded. "My son in everything but blood. I love him so much. It tore me apart to leave him behind and I know it did the same to him. That's something I'm going to have to answer for."

"He has no right to be angry with you. You were protecting him," Gibbs said fiercely. There was no way he was going to let McGee lash out at Shannon or Kelly. They had been through enough.

Shannon sighed. "Tell me, Jethro, is that what you thought yesterday? You didn't know who I was yesterday. All you knew was that I was Tim's mother-in-law and that his wife and I walked out of his life without a word. What did you think about us then?"

Gibbs hesitated. He didn't want to answer that question. He didn't even wanna think about it. It made him feel guilty. He hadn't thought much of her and Kelly yesterday. He thought it was wrong for them to abandon McGee the way they did and that he should file for divorce.

"Tell me, Jethro. I wanna know what you thought," Shannon said.

"I thought it was cold and cruel for you to leave him like that, I didn't know. If I had known…"

"It doesn't matter if you knew or not, Jethro. The acts are still the same. We still walked out of his life without so much as an explanation. True, we did it to protect him. I wanted him to have the life that I couldn't give Kelly. Kelly wanted that too. But I don't expect him to understand that. He had his wife and the only real parent he's ever had walk out on him," Shannon said. No part of her blamed Tim for being angry. She walked out on him after telling him how much she loved him and that she was different than his parents. He was probably more angry at her than Kelly, and rightfully so.

"What are you talking about? McGee's parents are still alive," Gibbs said confused.

Shannon laughed humorlessly. "Yeah, ask him about them some time. I can't get into it because it's not my place, but just suffice it to say that they leave a lot to be desired.

Gibbs wanted to question her further, but he knew his wife and he knew she wasn't going to go any further. He made a mental note to ask McGee about it later. After he got done killing him for marrying his daughter, that was.


	13. Chapter 13

Tony and Ziva were in Tim's apartment with Mike looking for clues. They were looking for anything that could either find Tim and Gibbs, or more likely, something that could help them find the people hunting them.

Tony was searching the kitchen table and looking through the papers. About all he found out so far was that McGee spent five hundred dollars on computer stuff. He made a mental note to make McGee go out more when they finally found him, even if he had to drag him kicking and screaming.

Tony's thoughts were interrupted by Mike's voice. "Hey!"

Both Tony and Ziva stopped what they were doing to look at the former agent.

"Either of you know how to work this contraption?" Mike asked as he held up Tim's laptop.

"Um, maybe," Tony said as he went over and took the computer. He quickly opened it and powered it up. As he expected from someone like McGee, he was prompted to enter a password. "Ugh, I was afraid of that. What would I use for a password if I was a McGeek?

"His anniversary was yesterday. I believe that is a common password for people," Ziva said as she searched through her missing teammate's desk. She searched through all the drawers and found practically nothing. Finally, she came to the last drawer and came across a picture of him and a young woman with long dark brown hair and blue eyes. She immediately picked it up. "I think I may have found a picture of the woman McGee is married to.

Tony immediately put the computer down on the couch and went over to Ziva. He peered over her shoulder to get a look. "Whoa. She's hot. I can't believe she married McGee. I mean really, she's smoking hot!"

Soon Tony felt a hand slap him hard on the back of the head, causing him to let out a squeak.

"Gawk at her partner's girl some other time! Like say after we save his ass!" Mike berated.

"I'll do that," Tony said while rubbing the back of his head. Wow, he really missed Gibbs. Gibbs was nice and cuddly compared to Mike.

"Well, at least we have a face now," Ziva said before bagging the photo and going towards the bedroom.

"We still don't have a face to go with it though!" Tony yelled towards her. He was sitting on the couch trying once again to get into his friends computer. He'd tried the man's wedding anniversary and his birthday. He hadn't had any luck. "I don't even know why I'm looking at this thing. It's not gonna tell us where they are."

"Tim?" came a new voice.

Tony turned to see Sarah McGee in the doorway. "Sarah."

"What's going on? Where's my brother?" Sarah asked nervously. Her brother's teammates were in his apartment dressed like they were working and her brother was nowhere to be seen.

"Who's she?" Mike asked.

"McGee's sister. I'll talk to her outside," Tony said before walking towards her. "Come on, Sarah, let's go outside.

Sarah reluctantly allowed herself to be led out of the apartment. "Tony, why are you in Tim's apartment? Where is he?" Sarah asked.

"When's the last time you talked to him?" Tony asked.

"Last week. I called him this morning to see how he was doing after yesterday and it went straight to voicemail. He never shuts his phone off and he always answers my calls," Sarah said worriedly.

"So you know what yesterday was? You know he's married?" Tony asked. He wasn't really surprised by that. Being McGee's sister, she'd be one of the few who would know her brother's secret.

"Yeah, but I'm surprised you do. It's not something he advertises. Now where is he?" Sarah asked again. Her tone was more demanding this time.

"We don't know," Tony admitted.

Sarah's eyes widened in horror. "What do you mean you don't know?"

"We had the same problem you did when calling him. His phone went straight to voicemail," Tony told her.

"Where's Agent Gibbs? I wanna talk to him," Sarah said.

"Yeah, so do I. We don't know where he is either. Look, we're still trying to figure some things out. It would really help if you could answer some questions for me," Tony said.

"Anything," Sarah said immediately. She would do anything to help find her brother.

"How much do you know about his wife?" Tony asked.

"Just what he told me. She's a computer programmer he met while doing some temp work while he waited to get into the FLETC program. They hit off, so well in fact that he temporarily suspended his efforts to get into NCIS. He still planned to go for it, but by then he had another dream as well and he decided to make that one a reality first.

"You never met her?" Tony asked surprised. He would've thought if anyone had met McGee's wife, it would be his sister.

"No. I was seventeen at the time. I wasn't even supposed to be in contact with Tim," Sarah said bitterly.

"Why?" Tony asked confused.

Sarah was hesitant to answer. She knew this was not something her brother would want his teammates knowing about. He wouldn't want the pity.

Tony immediately noticed the hesitancy. "Sarah, you have to tell me. It could help us find your brother."

Sarah sighed. "I'm not sure how, but okay. Despite what I'm sure he wanted you to believe, Tim did not have a perfect upbringing. Our father rode him harder than you can even imagine. And no matter how hard he tried, nothing he ever did was good enough for the Admiral. The Admiral wanted him to join the Navy, but that was never going to happen. Tim got sick as soon as he stepped on a boat. He wanted to work for NCIS instead. Not only was that not good enough for our father, he was furious. He considered it a betrayal."

"He considered it a betrayal for his son to dedicate his life to protecting others?" Tony asked in disbelief.

Sarah nodded. "Yeah. He hated that Tim was going to settle for a civil servant position, said it was an embarrassment to him. So the day of Tim's eighteenth birthday, he gave him an ultimatum. He either enlisted in the navy or our father would disown him. He'd never be allowed in the house or in our lives again. He's be completely out of the family."

Tony was horrified. All this time he thought McGee had a good relationship with his family. He always seemed so happy and well-adjusted, everything that came with being raised well. Apparently he was wrong. "Where was your mother through all this?"

"She was there. She was standing right there not saying a word," Sarah said bitterly. She'd always hated her mother for that. In fact, in many ways, she blamed her mother more than her father for not doing a thing to stop him. "Anyway, Tim made his choice. We all expected him to back done, but for once he didn't. For once, he chose his own happiness. After that day, I was forbidden from seeing or speaking to him. I didn't listen though. Tim gave me his cellphone number and I talked to him as often as I could. I unfortunately couldn't see him though until I was eighteen. He called me the day of his wedding though. He was so happy. He talked to me about the woman he loved and also her mother. He told me how she acted more like a mother to him than ours ever had. I was happy for him. He'd finally had what he always wanted. A family that loved him for him. And then they took off on him," Sarah said angrily. She hated them for that. They'd given her brother a family and then they'd yanked it out from under him. He would've been better off never meeting them.

"They might have had a good reason, Sarah," Tony said.

"What are you talking about? What has happened to my brother," Sarah asked once more.

"I don't know yet. We will find him though. I promise we'll find him," Tony said. He prayed that was true. He prayed that he had not just lied to the young woman in front of him. But something told him he had. Something deep inside him told him that Sarah wouldn't see her brother again for a long time, if ever.


	14. Chapter 14

Shannon pulled into a driveway in the middle of nowhere in a small town in Wyoming. "Well, this is it, guys. At least according to the address Nick wrote down.

"It's pretty deserted out here. Though I guess that's kind of the point," Kelly said as she began to get out of the car.

Shannon, meanwhile, popped the truck. "Kelly, grab the tool kid and the new plates from the trunk. Let's get the basics over with."

"On it," Kelly said before opening the drunk and pulling out the objects her mother mentioned.

"We should get rid of it anyway," Gibbs said as he and Tim both got out of the car. He wasn't an expert, but he didn't think keeping a car that could be traced by the Cartel to them was a good idea.

"Nick will come for it in a couple of days while bringing us a new one. In the meantime, we don't need someone walking by and seeing Nebraska plates," Shannon said as she started unscrewing the plate off the license plate.

Kelly scowled at the mention of Nick. She was still really pissed at him for lying about her father. "I'd like to kill Nick."

"Get in line, honey. He's mine first and I'm sure your father has already claimed the spot right behind me," Shannon said. She was pissed too. She had more than a few words for her bodyguard. She would send him packing if it weren't for the fact that he often kept them alive.

"I'd like to kill your mother more than him," Gibbs said angrily. Oh, he wanted to murder the bodyguard, but Joanne was the real issue. She'd seen how much pain he was in after losing Shannon and Kelly and she hadn't said a word. Worse, she'd caused her own daughter and granddaughter pain. He would never forgive her for that.

"Oh, if we ever see her again, there's not going to be anything left for you when I'm finished," Shannon said as she finished attaching the new plates. She then stood up, put everything back in the trunk, grabbed hers and Kelly's bags, and closed the trunk again. "Okay, let's head inside."

Everyone followed Shannon towards the front door and watched her open it before following her inside. They found themselves in a fully furnished living room. There was a black sectional couch and a matching loveseat with a reclining chair across from the couch and a clear glass coffee table.

"Nice place," Tim said.

"Yeah, Nick usually has everything set up and ready to move in to the new place by the time we have to. He's an ass and I wanna kill him, but he comes in pretty handy," Kelly said.

"Yeah, when he's not shoving a gun into the back of your head," Tim said half-jokingly before sitting down in the recliner.

"Excuse me, what?" Shannon asked as she placed the bags she was holding down and put a hand on her hip.

"Why do I keep telling people that? Look, it's not a big deal. It was only for like a minute," Tim said.

"I don't care if it was for a half a second! He didn't have permission to put a gun to your head!" Shannon said angrily. Now she was going to seriously mess Nick up. First he lied to her for years on her mother's orders and now he'd put a gun to her son's head? She was gonna kill him.

"It's not a big deal. It's not like he was actually going to shoot me. Can we just drop it?" Tim asked.

Shannon sighed. "Fine, but I will be speaking to him when he gets here. We should get settled in for now."

"Coffee?" Gibbs asked.

Shannon chuckled. "Some things never change. Nick might have picked some up. If not, there's some in the car. Hopefully it lives up to your standards."

Gibbs nodded curtly. "McGee, you wanna join me?"

"Um, no, Boss, not really," Tim said. He couldn't think of anything he wanted to do less. It was like asking if he wanted to get shot in the head. Actually, he might prefer that. It would probably hurt less.

Gibbs chuckled. "I'm sorry, that sounded like a request, didn't it? It wasn't one!"

"Dad, come on," Kelly said. She knew what her father was planning and she was not happy.

"Come on what? We're just gonna have a little chat," Gibbs said innocently.

"Jethro, I know you and I know what you mean by 'little chat'. You are not going to have that kind of 'chat' with Tim. You wanna talk to him, fine, but if he doesn't come back in one piece or I hear you tearing into him, you and I are going to have a 'little chat'," Shannon said in dangerously calm voice. She was very protective when it came to Tim. She knew what he'd been through at the hands of his parents and she wasn't going to let anyone treat him like that again, not even her own husband.

Gibbs barely managed to stop himself from cringing. His wife had become rather scary over the years, and with Tim, she appeared to be mama bear protecting her cub.

Shannon smiled satisfied that she made her point. "Go ahead."

"Mom," Kelly protested.

"It'll be fine, Kelly. You can't stop this from happening, but it won't get out of control," Shannon said with a pointed look at her husband. It was a last warning and she knew he knew it.

Gibbs looked at Tim and motioned with his head towards the kitchen before heading that way.

Tim took a deep breath before standing up and following his boss towards the kitchen. He found the man already rummaging through the cupboards for coffee. "Okay, Boss. I have to say first that I didn't do anything wrong. I didn't know Kelly was your daughter. I didn't even know who you were when I met her."

Gibbs didn't say anything for a few minutes. He just continued with his task. He found a package of coffee in one of the top cabinets as well as filters and went over to the coffee maker. It was only after he had everything he needed that he spoke again. "Would it have changed anything if you had known?"

"No," Tim said immediately. He loved his wife despite everything she'd done to him. He would never regret marrying her. Even when she left him, he didn't regret it. He cherished the memories he had despite the hurt it caused him. Even if he knew he would end up on the run, he would've done it. "Look, I know you probably don't wanna hear this, but I love your daughter. No matter what, I always will."

Gibbs finally turned to Tim with a glare. "Yeah. Did you love her when you were messing around with Abby or any of the other women you were with?"

Tim was caught off guard by the question. He didn't see it coming. He guessed he probably should've, but he didn't. And within seconds, it took away any amount of fear he felt and replaced it with anger. "How dare you?"

"Excuse me?" Gibbs asked, turning his completely towards the younger agent. He must have heard wrong because no way did McGee just speak to him like that.

"You accuse me of cheating on my wife? Who the hell do you think you are?! My wife left me nine years ago! It was as close to a legal separation as it comes, though not by my choice! What was I supposed to do? Spend the rest of my life alone? Is that what you did?" Tim asked angrily. Normally he'd believe it suicide to speak to Gibbs this way, but right now he was too angry to care. Gibbs had just accused him of mistreating his wife because of a situation she forced on him. he was not going to take that lying down.

If looks could kill, Tim would be dead and stiff by now with the look Gibbs was giving him. "Watch yourself, McGee."

Tim glared back. He was way passed intimidation at that point. "Why? It's true, isn't it? Who the hell are you to judge me when you did the same?!"

"One difference, McGee. I thought my wife was dead!" Gibbs said angrily.

"And mine walked out on me!" Tim yelled.

"To protect you!" Gibbs yelled back.

"I didn't know that, and even if I had, so what? Why is that supposed to matter to me? She still left. All her reasons mean is that she made a decision without even considering what I wanted! So don't think you can stand there and judge me for the way I handled my wife leaving me!" Tim continued to yell.

"She's my daughter!" Gibbs said angrily.

"Fine! Defend her all you want. I wouldn't expect anything else, but don't accuse me of mistreating her because it's crap! If anything, it's the other way around!" Tim said angrily before storming out of the room. He walked past Shannon and Kelly towards the front door.

"Where are you going?" Shannon asked.

"For some air," Tim said.

Shannon reached out and grabbed his arm. "No, you're not leaving here alone. Not until Nick gives the all clear that we're safe. You wanna be alone, fine, but you do it in another room in this house.

Tim huffed, yanked his arm free and headed up the stairs to one of the bedrooms.


	15. Chapter 15

Kelly watched her husband storm upstairs and then she went straight for the kitchen to confront her father. She hadn't heard a lot, but she knew enough to know that her husband was really angry. On a normal day, Tim didn't flip out like that without a hell of a reason. Not to mention that when they first went into the kitchen, Tim was nervous and worried. Her father had to have said something pretty bad to cause him to change his demeanor so quickly.

Shannon followed her daughter. She didn't even try to stop her. For one, she knew it wouldn't do any good and for another, she was angry too. Tim didn't get that angry, ever. It took something very big to bring out that kind of anger in him. Now while she expected that a portion of his anger was over the buildup of what she and Kelly had done, she also knew her husband had to have said something very insulting and for Tim to have that kind of reaction.

Kelly walked into the kitchen and saw her father by the coffee pot making coffee. "What did you say to my husband?"

"What needed to be said, and please stop using that word," Gibbs said. He cringed every time he heard Kelly and McGee refer to each other as husband and wife. The thought of his little girl being married was too much to bear right now. In his eyes, she was still the little girl he lost. He didn't wanna think about her being with a man, let along marrying one.

"You said something that you shouldn't have. Tim doesn't get angry like that. He doesn't scream," Kelly said.

Gibbs couldn't deny that his daughter was right about that last part at least. McGee's new attitude was a new experience for him. He'd never once heard the man yell like that. Tim McGee was probably one of the most mild mannered men he'd ever met, yet he'd lost it when talking to him. "Look, there are things you don't know, okay? There was a reason for what I said to him."

"Like what? What did you say to him?" Kelly asked

"He cheated on you, honey," Gibbs said.

Kelly cringed at the idea of her husband being with other women, but it wasn't something that was unexpected and she certainly wouldn't call it cheating. If Tim was with someone else, it was her own fault. She left her husband and she told him to move on. She couldn't expect him to be celibate after that. "No, Dad, he didn't. You can't cheat on someone who's left you. I left my husband. I did it to protect him, but I still did it and it still hurt him. I knew what would happen if I walked away. I knew he would move on. I knew that because I told him too. So who the hell am I to judge him for doing what I wanted after I abandoned him? And who are you to do it?"

Gibbs narrowed his eyes at her. "I'm you father!"

"Yeah, but that doesn't give you the right to butt into my marriage! My relationship with Tim is exactly that! It's between the two of us! Stay out of it!" Kelly demanded before leaving the room.

Shannon watched her husband leave before turning back to her husband. "So apparently you didn't listen to a word I said before you came in here."

"I was defending our daughter," Gibbs said before going back to preparing his coffee.

"Don't give me that! You are not talking to a stranger off the street or a colleague who barely knows you. I'm your wife. I know you and I know what this is really about. This isn't about Tim cheating on our daughter because we both know that's not true. That's just something you're telling yourself to make hating him okay," Shannon said.

Gibbs didn't say anything. There was nothing he could say and he knew it. Shannon was right. She'd figured him out just like she always had. Even when he accused McGee of mistreating Kelly, he knew it wasn't true. He knew that because of the way McGee had spoken about her since he revealed he was married. He loved her. Ironically, that was what upset Gibbs the most. The idea of someone loving his daughter in that way and her reciprocating that love freaked him out. In his mind, she was still the little girl that was taken from me. Also, he didn't like that Tim had had a relationship with his family for years while he was going around thinking they were dead. But neither of those things were actually McGee's fault, so he tried to find something that was.

"But it's not okay, Jethro, and it's not fair. You're angry because your daughter grew up and didn't get to see it. That's not Tim's fault. It's not his problem that the daughter in your head is still eight-years-old," Shannon said.

Gibbs finally turned to his wife. "What do you want me to do, Shannon? I've had less than a day to process the fact that my wife and daughter are alive and the fact that my daughter, who was a little girl the last time I saw her, is married to a man I've worked with every day for seven years."

"I get that, Jethro, I do. What you fail to understand is that Tim is in the same boat. Actually, it may even be worse for him. You spent this time believing we were dead and that was awful, and I know that because I felt that same pain from losing you. But we all thought we knew what happened to each other. Tim never knew. We were there one day and then we were gone. All he had in way of an explanation was a vague letter that Kelly wrote him. Then nearly a decade later, he's back in our lives, but we're not who he thought we were. Our names aren't even what he thought they were. To him, we were Sharon and Kelsey Gilbert and we had normal everyday lives. Now we're Shannon and Kelly, the wife and daughter of his boss, and we're on the run from drug dealers. Now so is he. That's a lot for one person to handle in less than a twelve hour period, don't you think?" Shannon asked. She felt a lot of guilt for the situation Tim was thrust into. Not only was she the reason he had a price on his head, but she'd also caused him a lot of pain by walking out of his life. She hated herself for that, especially since she knew the pain he'd suffered at the hands of his own parents. She'd done it to protect him, but for him, it was probably nothing but more rejection.

Gibbs sighed. He knew that this was hard for Tim. He'd seen some of it first hand before they even left DC. The way Shannon and Kelly had left him had him in turmoil. Yet he still loved them and wanted to protect him. He was a good man. Gibbs knew that. He'd known that for years. He'd often thought that out of their entire team, Tim was the best of them. He was the one that would do the right and moral thing no matter what. Still, it was hard for him to except his daughter with anyone, even someone like Tim McGee.

"I know this is difficult for you, I really do. But you are not going to lash out at Tim because you're angry about something that none of us could've helped. That kid has had enough people in his life blame him for things that weren't his fault and I will be damned if I let that happen again! So you better find some other way to deal with how you're feeling because he's not gonna be your scapegoat," Shannon said firmly before leaving her husband alone once more.


	16. Chapter 16

Tony and Ziva were standing in Vance's office in front of his desk. The man seemed quite peeved with them.

"When in the hell were the two of you going to tell me that two of my agents were UA?!" Vance asked angrily. He'd been wrapped up in conferences for most of the day, so he'd only learned about an hour ago that Gibbs and McGee were missing, and that Mike Franks had been brought in. Needless to say, he wasn't happy.

"Sir, you were busy all day," Tony said. It was a lousy excuse and he knew it, but it was all he could come up with.

"And you didn't think that Gibbs and McGee being missing when there is a hit out them was reason enough to interrupt me?!" he asked incredulously.

"To tell you the truth, Director, it did not occur to us," Ziva said. They'd both been so worried about Gibbs and McGee that they just didn't think to fill the director in.

"It didn't occur to you," Vance repeated as though he hadn't heard correctly.

"We were dazzled by their disappearances," Ziva said.

"Frazzled," Tony corrected, an action he instantly regretted as it caused Vance to turn and glare at him.

"We were not thinking clearly enough to inform you of what had happened," Ziva said.

"I see, but you were thinking clearly enough to inform Franks?" Vance asked.

"No sir. Franks called us. He was helping us with information on Juan Garcia. He called to tell Gibbs what he'd found and that's when we told him Gibbs and McGee were missing. He got on a plane right away," Tony explained.

"And what did he find out?" Vance asked.

"Well, apparently Juan Garcia was working for the Reynosa Cartel," Tony told him.

Vance leaned forward in his chair, his interest peaked. "What?"

"We think he was doing their bidding by going after Gibbs and McGee," he said.

"Damn it," Vance cursed. He thought this whole business with the Reynosa Cartel was over when Paloma Reynosa and Alejandro Rivera were killed. It certainly seemed to be over.

"We cannot figure out what the connection is though," Ziva said.

"Yeah. Separately, it makes sense. The Cartel would go after Gibbs for revenge and it's clear that they want McGee because of his wife and mother-in-law, but there's no connection between the two cases. Gibbs had nothing to do with McGee's family and McGee had nothing to do with the vendetta the Cartel has against Gibbs," Tony said. It was actually starting to frustrate him. As hard as he tried, he couldn't for the life of him figure this out.

"And you're sure that they are connected?" Vance asked.

"Absolutely. It's too big of a coincidence," Tony said.

Vance nodded. He had to agree with him. Even without Gibbs' rule, this was just too big to be a coincidence. "Okay. When was the last time Gibbs and McGee were seen?"

"Leaving here. They went to Gibbs' place. We already checked it out. Gibbs' care and keys were there, but they weren't," Tony said.

"Any sign of a struggle?" Vance asked.

"No, there was nothing. There was no sign that anyone else was even in that house. We figure they must of left on their own, but we can't figure out why or where they would go on foot," Tony said.

"If they left on foot. Just because they didn't leave in Gibbs' car doesn't mean they didn't get in another car," Vance said.

"McGee's car is still in the lot here," Tony said. They'd checked it just to be thorough and found it right where he left it.

"But they might have gotten into someone else's car or a cab. It's unlikely, but we have to consider every angle. I'm gonna pull all the traffic camera's by Gibbs' house. You're gonna go over it with a fine tooth comb," Vance said.

"Got it. What about Franks?" Tony asked.

Vance sighed. He really didn't like the idea of Mike Franks being involved. The man had a tendency to ignore the rules and do whatever he wanted. But he had two agents missing and Franks knew one of them like the back of his hand. He could be useful. Besides, all Vance cared about was getting Gibbs and McGee back safely. He didn't particularly care how that was done. "Work with him. Dismissed."

Both agents nodded and left the room.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Two hours later, Ziva and Mike were seated in the bullpen. Ziva was getting antsy. It was seven-o-clock at night, nearly twenty-four hours since they'd last seen Gibbs and McGee, and there were still no leads. They were awaiting the traffic camera's from Metro, but so far there was nothing.

Ziva was pulled from her thoughts by Abby's voice. "Where's Tony?"

Ziva turned to her. "He went for a walk. He should be back soon."

"You get something, Abby?" Mike asked from Gibbs' desk.

"Sort of. I didn't actually find anything, but our drug dealers did make their presences known. I was just downstairs helping Cybercrimes with Timmy's computer. There's some pretty heavy duty spyware on his computer," Abby said.

"Spyware?" Mike asked confused.

"Yeah. It means they were tracking his every move on the computer. So they were spying on him physically and technologically," Abby said.

"But how. McGee is a genius with computers. How could they spy on him without his knowledge?" Ziva asked.

"Like I said, it was really heavy duty. He wouldn't have been able to find it unless he was looking for it," Abby said.

"Can you figure out who put it there?" Mike asked.

"Cybercrimes is working on it, but I don't think it'll come to any surprise as to who it was. It was probably Garcia, and if not, someone else in the Reynosa Cartel," Abby said.

Just then, Tony came through holding a bunch of DVDs. "I got the footage. Hey, Abs, what are you doing up here."

"Later. Let's see the footage," Mike said.

Tony went over to his desk, pulled out one of the DVD's, and inserted it into his computer. "This is the one closest to Gibbs place," he said before keying it to the plasma screen. An intersection immediately came up and they watched as several cars drove by.

They all just watched for a few minutes before something caught his eye. "Pause it."

Tony immediately did so.

"Can you get closer to the black SUV?" Mike asked.

"I'll do it. Out of the way, DiNozzo," Abby said.

Tony immediately moved and let Abby take his seat. He looked to the plasma and saw as the screen closed in on the van. They all immediately saw a man with grey hair in the back and recognized him as Gibbs.

"It is Gibbs. He is in that car," Ziva said.

"I see an arm next to him. That has to be Timmy!" Abby said excitedly.

"But why are they in the car? And who are they with?" Tony asked.

"Only one way to find out. Zero in on the driver, Abby," Mike said.

"I'll try," Abby said before messing around with the computer a bit. The driver of the car immediately became more visible, visible enough that they were able to get a good look.

Mike walked over to get a closer look. Recognition immediately crossed his face. "Son of a bitch."

"What is it?" Tony asked.

"I've met him before," Mike said. It had been a very long time ago and he only met him once, but he didn't forget him. You don't forget anything that had to do with someone you failed to protect.

"When?" Tony asked.

Mike didn't take his eyes off the screen when he answered. "Twenty years ago, through Shannon Gibbs."


	17. Chapter 17

Tony, Ziva, and Abby were all shocked by Mike's statement. "That guy was connected to Gibbs' wife? Are you sure?" Tony asked.

Mike turned and glared at him. "You don't forget anything, no matter how remote, about someone you failed to save." He never spoke about it out loud, but he held a lot of guilt for not being able to save Shannon Gibbs and her daughter. He'd told Shannon they would be safe and they weren't. He'd never really forgiven himself for that.

"So who is he?" Ziva asked.

"She introduced him as a friend of the family about a week before she died. I think she said his name was Nick," Mike said.

"Obviously he was no friend. He must work for the Reynosa Cartel," Ziva said.

"How do you figure? We don't know enough to make that call," Tony said.

"Think about it, Tony. This man turns up while Shannon is preparing to testify against a drug dealer and a week later she is dead. It is clear what happened. He worked for the Cartel and he betrayed her," Ziva said.

"But she introduced him as a family friend. That means that she must have known him before all that business with the Reynosa Cartel started," Abby said.

"Rather than speculate, let's find out who this guy is. No matter what else, he knows where Gibbs and McGee are. We work on finding him," Mike said.

"How though? All we have is a face and a possible name. There are a lot of people in the world with the name Nick. That's if that's his real name," Tony said.

"We should start by checking him against the known members of the Reynosa Cartel. I will do that," Ziva said.

"What about Joanne Fielding, Shannon's mother? If this guy is a friend of the family, she must know about him," Abby reasoned.

Mike nodded. "Let's bring her in and talk to her. We'll also start looking into the time period that he first showed up. This guy didn't just turn up one day,"

"I'll get a couple of agents to bring Joanne in and then I'll get on it," Tony said before walking away to do as he said.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Tony and Ziva walked into the interrogation room that Joanne Fielding was in.

"It is almost nine-o-clock. Why am I here? Where is Jethro" Joanne asked irritably. She could only assume that her son-in-law was behind this

Ms. Fielding, we need your help," Tony said as he and Ziva sat down. He then took a blown up photo of the guy Mike had recognized from the traffic camera. "Do you know who he is?"

Joanne immediately recognized the man in the photo. He was the same man she'd hired twenty years ago to protect her family and the man she continued to pay to keep them safe. That wasn't something she could or would tell these agents though. "No. Should I know him?"

"If your daughter is to be believed, yes," Ziva said.

Joanne felt her stomach drop when she heard that. Had they somehow found Shannon? What they were saying led her to believe that they had, but how could that be. She paid Nick good money to make sure that they were never found. Until now, it seemed to work. "What?"

"Before she died, your daughter told the NIS agent in charge of her case that this man was a family friend," Tony said.

Joanne felt slight relief after hearing that. She still had a bit of a problem here, but at least the agents didn't know about her daughter and granddaughter. "Perhaps she meant he was a friend of her and Jethro. They were a family all of their own. Where is he anyway? And are you asking these questions? What does it matter now?"

"It matters because Gibbs is missing," Tony said. Normally he wouldn't give information like that out, but he was hoping the woman would be more forthcoming if she knew. Besides, she wasn't considered a suspect.

"H…he's what?" Joanne asked in shock.

"He and another agent disappeared last night. They were last seen in a car with the man in this picture," Ziva said. Okay, so they hadn't seen McGee in the car, but they'd assumed he was with them given the circumstances.

To say that Joanne was surprised would be an understatement. What game was Nick playing? He shouldn't be going near Jethro, or DC for that matter. It was like he was begging for someone to find out about Shannon and Kelly.

Tony could tell that the old woman in front of him knew something. He didn't know how much she knew, but she knew something. "Who is he, Ms. Fielding?"

"I told you, I don't know," Joanne lied once more.

"You know something," Tony said.

"No, I don't," Joanne insisted.

"Like you didn't know anything about the death of your fiancé? Gibbs saved you then. He made it possible for you to walk free after killing a man. Are you really gonna hang him out to dry now?" Tony asked irritably.

"Have you considered that Jethro left on his own? I find it difficult to believe that he would allow himself to be anyone's hostage," Joanne said.

"There is a hit on his head from the Reynosa Cartel, the same way there was on your daughter. This man was last person we know of to see your daughter alive and he's the last person to have seen Gibbs. Now, if he works for the Reynosa Cartel, Gibbs and our other agent are as good as dead if you don't help us! Tell us what you know!" Tony ordered loudly.

Joanne was surprised and horrified to learn that the Reynosa Cartel was after Gibbs. She'd never liked Jethro, not from the moment she met him, but she didn't wish him dead, especially after what he had done for her. She also knew that if those monsters were after Jethro, it was to get to Shannon and Kelly. If they were successfully, her girls would be in severe jeopardy. But they would also be in jeopardy if she told these agents they were alive. "I'm sorry. I can't help you."

Tony glared at the elderly woman. "If we ever see Gibbs again, we'll be sure to tell him what protecting you meant to you." With that, he and Ziva got up and left the room.


	18. Chapter 18

Tim woke up on the couch the next morning. The house they were in was only a two bedroom and he was nowhere near ready to share a bedroom with Kelly yet, so he slept on the couch. Kelly tried to argue with him that she should be the one to sleep downstairs, but he wouldn't hear it. He would never push his wife out of the bedroom like that, no matter how angry he was.

Tim immediately heard movement coming from the kitchen, followed by the smell of bacon. He got up and walked to the kitchen where he found Shannon cooking. He wasn't surprised that it was her. Kelly couldn't cook to save her life and Gibbs… Well, he just couldn't picture Gibbs in the kitchen making breakfast for everyone.

Sensing another presence, Shannon turned around to see Tim in the doorway. "Hey."

"Hi," Tim greeted.

"I didn't wake you, did I?" Shannon asked.

"No. I'm always up pretty early. It comes with the job, I guess," Tim said as he came further into the room

'Did you sleep alright down here?" Shannon asked.

"As well as I would've been able to sleep anywhere," Tim said. He hadn't slept great, but it had nothing to do with where he slept. He'd just had a lot on his mind. It had been a really rough day and it didn't seem like it would get any easier anytime soon.

"Yeah, I know. A lot has been asked of you in the last twenty-four hours. There hasn't even been enough time for us all to sit down and really discuss everything," Shannon said. They'd had to get out of dodge so fast that sitting down and talking things out just hadn't been an option. Instead, she'd had to bluntly tell her husband and son that they had to leave without even giving them time to process it all. It wasn't fair.

"What's to discuss? You were pretty clear," Tim said before going over to the cabinets and pulling out a coffee mug. He then poured himself a cup of the already made coffee.

"I had to be. I'm sorry. There's just not much time for talk when you're fighting for your life and the lives of everyone you love. I didn't know how safe we were, so there was no time to sit down and discuss things. Believe me, I know how hard it was for you to just go with the flow because I had to do it too. Nick didn't exactly give me time to think when he declared that the only way for us to stay alive was to go on the run," Shannon said.

"You had time to explain it. Nine years ago," Tim said bitterly.

Shannon sighed. "Tim, you know we were only trying to protect you, right. We love you so much that we just didn't wanna see you in the life we were forced to live. I wanted you to have a better life."

"Yeah, I know that now. I didn't know it nine years ago. Neither one of you gave me any reason for leaving. You were just gone. The most I got from Kelly was a letter that didn't explain a thing. I didn't even get that from you. I racked my brain for years trying to figure out why? Had I done something to make the two of you stop loving me or had you never cared in the first place?" Tim asked as his voice began to break. He hated this. He'd wanted anger while having this conversation, but all that was coming was pain.

"Oh, honey, the answer is neither. We both love you so much. I've considered you my son since practically the moment I met you," Shannon said.

Tim took a deep breath to try to contain his emotions. "Yeah, you said that. I told you about my parents. I told you how they were to me. You have any idea how hard that was for me? I've never told anyone about that, not even Kelly." Honestly, he wouldn't have even told Shannon, but she had been there one day when he received a call from his father. He was a wreck afterwards and she saw him. She wouldn't let up until he told her what happened.

"I do know how hard it was for you. I was there. I saw what one conversation with your dad did to you. I had half a mind to go out and kill him for hurting you like that," Shannon said. She remembered that day very clearly. Tim had gotten a call from his father. She could hear the screaming from the other end of the line. Tim had become more and more broken by the minute. It had torn him apart. That angered her more than anything because she'd already considered him hers.

"And you told me to forget him. You told me my parents didn't deserve me. You told me you loved me. That was the first day that I really saw you as a mother. You'd acted like I wished my own mother had. And then one day, you were gone and I wondered if that was all a lie," Tim said with pain in his voice.

Shannon closed her eyes sadly. She was afraid even back then that he would think that. Her biggest fear was that by leaving, she would be crushing his self-esteem, and she was right. "It wasn't a lie. I love you so much. I always have. You're my son. Leaving you was the hardest thing I've ever done. But I didn't see any other way. It was the only way I could protect you from this."

"I didn't wanna be protected. I wanted to be with you and Kelly," Tim said.

"I know, but you would've had to leave everything behind. Your friends, your family, your dreams for the future, everything," Shannon said.

"That happened anyway," Tim pointed out.

"Yes, it did. I was naïve. I thought that if we cut ties, you Reynosa Cartel would leave you alone. I guess it was just wishful thinking. I just wanted you to have the chance of living your life without looking over your shoulder," Shannon said.

Tim shook his head in frustration. "You don't get it. I don't care about that. I mean, it bothers me that I had to leave my sister, but all I wanted was to be with you and Kelly. If you'd told me the truth and actually given me the choice, I would've chosen you guys.

Soon they both heard footsteps. Seconds later, Gibbs entered the room. "What's going on?"

"Nothing," Tim said before taking his cup of coffee and heading for the living room.

Gibbs watched him leave and then turned to his wife. "What did he say to you?"

Shannon sighed. "Jethro, I'm going to say this once. Stay out of it. There are things that Kelly and I need to work out with him and that has to be done without interference. So you need to back off. There's coffee in the pot," she said before going back to her cooking.


	19. Chapter 19

Tony and Ziva were sitting at their desks. They both were extremely overtired. They'd spent the night in the office and got very little sleep the night before. Not that staying did much good. There were still no leads on where Gibbs and McGee might be.

Tony looked over at Ziva who was going through the files of the known Reynosa Cartel members. "Ziva, you looked at those about ten times so far. Our guy isn't just gonna magically appear."

"Yes, well, at least I am doing something," Ziva snapped.

"Hey, I'm doing something. I'm waiting for Abby to get back to me with Joanne Fielding's financials. There's not much else I can do right now," Tony said defensively.

Ziva sighed. "I am sorry, Tony. I did not mean that. I am just worried and frustrated that we have no leads."

"I know. So am I," Tony said.

"We should not have let Joanne Fielding go. She knew something. I could see it all over her face," Ziva ranted.

"Yeah, I saw it too. She's hiding something. But we can't prove that yet. We had nothing to hold her on," Tony said.

"You two idiots better have something," Mike said as he walked past them.

As if on cue, Tony's phone rang. He immediately picked it up. "DiNozzo. Hey, Abs. You did? Great, send it to my computer," he said before handing up.

"Well, don't keep us in suspense, Probie," Mike said.

"Abby got into Joanne Fielding's financial records. I'm pulling them up now. Whoa," Tony said in shock as he began to read what Abby sent him.

"What is it?" Ziva asked.

"Joanne has been wiring large sums of money to an offshore bank account for the last twenty years," Tony sad.

"How much money are talking about?" Mike asked.

"Twenty-five grand every six months," Tony said.

"That is a lot of money to be putting down," Ziva said.

"Well, from what I'm seeing here, she's not hurting for money. She's built up quite the sum. I suppose it helps that she was married to a successful doctor for almost thirty years. She inherited everything he had when she died. She doesn't live the life of luxury, so she would build up a lot of money if she didn't spend a lot," Tony said.

"It looks like she's spending a lot, just not on things you or I would. When did the payments start?" Mike asked.

"Let's see," Tony said before looking up the exact date. He then looked between the screen and Mike in shock. February 21, 1991."

Mike couldn't hide his surprise. "That's less than a week before Shannon and Kelly Gibbs were killed."

All three of them looked completely shocked. "That cannot possibly be a coincidence. Why would Joanne Fielding start wiring someone money a week before her daughter's murder?"

"We're gonna find out. Bring her back in. I'm questioning her myself," Mike said with a fierce look on his face. He was gonna get this woman to tell him exactly what was going on.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

An hour later, Mike walked into the interrogation room Joanne was in with a file in his hand. "Hello, Ms. Fielding. You remember me?"

Joanne nodded. "You don't forget the man who told you your daughter was dead. You are the agent who failed to protect my girls."

Mike didn't let the guilt he felt reach his face. He'd always and would always have remorse for not protecting Shannon and Kelly better. He'd done it to the best of his ability, but he still wished he'd been able to do something more. "You blame a lot of people for the deaths of your daughter and granddaughter. Me, Gibbs. There anyone you don't blame?"

"I blame those responsible. You both failed to protect them," Joanne said.

"Blame me all you want, but don't blame Gibbs. He wasn't even here," Mike said.

"Exactly. He was supposed to be here protecting them. It was his job," Joanne said.

Mike sat down across from Joanne. "Wasn't it yours too? You were Shannon's mother. Wasn't it your job to protect her?"

"Yes, it was," Joanne said. That was why she'd done what she did, to protect her daughter and granddaughter. She'd done what no one else seemed to be capable of doing.

"Yet you didn't protect them either. In fact, according to this, you look guilty of helping to hurt them," Mike said before taking out a copy of Joanne's bank records and placing them in front of her. He didn't think she did was involved in what happened, but evidence did suggest it. He was hoping that if he insinuated that Joanne was involved somehow in the murders that she would give them something.

Joanne glanced at the records and then looked back up at Mike. "I fail to see what this has to do with anything."

"Really? You took wired a large sum of money to an off shore account not even a full weak before your daughter and granddaughter were murdered. You've wired that same amount of money twice a year for the last twenty years. Now, I can only see one reason for that," Mike said.

Joanne glared at him. "Are you accusing me of murdering my own daughter and granddaughter?"

"No. The Reynosa Cartel murdered them. I'm accusing you of selling them out and paying them off," Mike clarified. Again, he didn't think that was the case. His instincts told him something else was going on, but he knew accusing her would get a big reaction out of her.

"That is an insulting notion! They were my girls! I loved them with everything in me!" Joanne yelled. She would not be accused of killing her family. She loved them, so much so that she had been willing to let them go forever to save their lives.

"Then tell me who you paid off and why," Mike ordered.

Joanne was quiet for a minute. She could not do that. The world needed to believe that Shannon and Kelly were dead. "I want a lawyer."

"No," Mike said immediately.

"Excuse me?" Joanne asked as if she heard wrong.

"You're not getting a lawyer. And before you start preaching about your rights, let me tell you that I'm not an agent anymore. I no longer have to care about your rights. The only thing I care about is the two agents that are missing. I know you know something about what happened to them. You're not leaving until I find out what that is," Mike told her.

"I don't know anything about what happened to Jethro and that other agent. And I certainly didn't have anything to do with Reynosa Cartel. Did it ever occur to you that perhaps the money was just me helping out a friend?" Joanna asked.

"No one's generous enough to give away fifty grand a year. There are only two reasons for doling out that kind of money. Either you're consistently buying something you shouldn't be buying or you're paying someone off. We're gonna track that money. Where do you think it's gonna lead? Back to your friend, Nick? How soon do you think he'll betray whatever it is your hiding when we bring him in and charge him with kidnapping two federal agents?" Mike asked.

Joanne began to get worried. She doubted Nick would ever admit to what his job was, but if he were arrested, he wouldn't be able to protect Shannon and Kelly. If that happened, her girls would be in serious danger. But what could she do. There was nothing she could do without telling Franks Shannon and Kelly were alive. She couldn't do that. "I have nothing to say."

Just then, the door opened and Tony entered the room. "Mike, could I have a word?"

Mike immediately got up and followed Tony out of the room. "This better be good, Probie."

"We got a lead on where Gibbs and McGee might have been taken. They got pretty far. I put a bolo on the car we saw on the traffic cam. A car matching the description was ditched in Nebraska sometime yesterday," Tony explained.

"Let's go," Mike said before walked back towards the bullpen.


	20. Chapter 20

Tim was in the living room watching TV. He wasn't a big TV person, but there wasn't much to do without his phone or laptop. It was either this or talk to the others. He wasn't interested in that. He was on the outs with everyone in the house. Shannon and Kelly for obvious reason and Gibbs… well, he had gone out his way not to talk to Gibbs since their blowup the day before. He was trying to avoid another incident like that.

Tim was pulled from his thoughts when Kelly entered the room. He ignored her at first, but then she came to sit next to him and started talking.

"Tim, do you think we could talk?" Kelly asked.

Tim debated. He really didn't wanna talk right now. He would just get angry and probably start yelling. Then Gibbs would get involved and it would turn into another battle. But that it all seemed unavoidable. He and Kelly were going to have to have this out sooner or later. They might as well get it over with.

Tim shut the TV off. "Where are your parents?"

"I asked Mom to keep Dad busy for a little while. I think they went upstairs. I don't wanna think about what they're doing up there," Kelly said in an attempt at humor. It didn't seem to work, as her husband didn't even crack a smile. "Anyway, she'll keep him away for a little while."

"Well, if anyone can keep Gibbs on a leash it's Shannon," Tim said. His mother-in-law was a force to be reckoned with. Even Gibbs would be hard pressed to one up her. "If you wanna talk, go ahead.

Kelly took a deep breath. She knew how hard this conversation was going to be. "I know how angry you are at me. You have every right to be. You have every right to hate me."

"I don't hate you, Kelly. Sometimes I wish I did. You couldn't hurt me like this if I hated you," Tim said. Over the years, he'd tried to scrounge up hate for Kelly so that the pain would go away, but it never worked. Despite how much she'd hurt him, he'd always love her.

"I didn't want to hurt you. It was quite the opposite actually. I love you so much, Tim. I just wanted to protect you," Kelly said.

"That doesn't fly! You don't get to protect me by leaving me. That's not your choice to make! And if you were so worried about my safety, why'd you marry me in the first place?" Tim asked.

"There hadn't been a lot of activity with the Reynosa Cartel at the time. I guess I convinced myself we'd be safe. And I loved you. I wanted to be with you. It was selfish of me, but I just couldn't give you up," Kelly said.

"Except that that's what you did to. And worst of all, you didn't give me a choice or even an explanation. You just left me some stupid letter saying it was for the best," Tim said with pain and anger laced in his voice.

"I knew that if I told you the truth, you would've insisted on coming with us. That wouldn't have been fair," Kelly said.

"And this was fair? Making me wonder if my wife ever truly loved me was fair? I would wonder that all the time, up until the day I learned why you really left actually. I would wrack my brain trying to figure it out. I came to the conclusion that either you stopped loving me or you never really had in the first place," Tim said.

"I never wanted you to think that. I just…"

"You wanted to protect me. Yes, you've said it many times. I get it. But that doesn't make it okay. You don't have the right to make my decisions for me. You just don't. And you don't get to lie to me either, which you've been doing since the moment we met." Tim said. He understood why she didn't tell him at first. She hadn't really known him in the beginning. For all she knew, he could be the enemy. But she should've told him something before agreeing to marry him.

"What was I supposed to say? That I'd spent most of my life running away from drug dealers who wanted to kill both me and my mother. That's not exactly what you say to a guy you hope to be with one day," Kelly said.

"No, I get why you didn't tell me at first. But after you knew you knew I wasn't going anywhere, after you accepted my proposal, you should've said something. God, Kelly, I didn't even know your real name," Tim said.

"No one has, Tim. I couldn't tell anybody my real name. It was too dangerous. And, yeah, I realize that lying to you about when once we were married was wrong, but I couldn't tell you," Kelly said.

"You know I'd heard of you? All these years working for Gibbs, I'd heard of his daughter. I'd heard of Kelly Gibbs. All these years, I've known all about you. The only thing I didn't know was that my wife and my boss' daughter were the same person. You know how shocking it was to find that out?" Tim asked. He was still reeling from the information. Never in a million years did he think that his Kelly was Gibbs' as well. It was beyond shocking to him.

"I never expected that either. I never thought you'd know my dad. Then again, I thought my father was dead," Kelly said.

"He thought you were dead too. I wish I would've known. I could've told him the truth if I'd known," Tim said. And he would've. Despite the intimidation he knew he would've felt, he would've told Gibbs the truth if he'd known. He would've relieved his boss of the horrible nightmare that his family was dead.

"I didn't know either, Tim. You can't blame me for that when I didn't know either," Kelly said. She would take any amount of blame Tim could throw at her for leaving him and lying to him, but she couldn't be blamed for something she knew nothing about.

"I'm not. I'm just trying to work it out in my head. It's hard, you know? It's hard to reconcile my wife with my boss' daughter. You're the same person, but it's hard to believe. And then there's the crap in my head from you leaving me and lying to me for so long. It's a little bit much to take in after one day,' Tim said.

"I know. I'm so sorry I hurt you, I really am. I…I don't wanna lose you, Tim. Please tell me there's a way for us to survive this," Kelly begged as her voice began to crack.

A part of Tim wanted to grab ahold of his wife and comfort her, but the other part of him was still way too angry for that. Still, she was his wife and he needed her to know that he didn't hate her. "I want us to survive this. I never filed for divorce because I couldn't bear the idea of losing you. I still can't. But you need to give me some time. I'll do whatever it takes to get us through this, but it's not going to happen overnight. It's going to take time and work for me to forgive you, but I'll find a way.

Kelly dried her tears and nodded her head. After how much she'd hurt him, that was the least she could do. "Okay."

Tim stood up from the couch and headed upstairs.


	21. Chapter 21

The next day found Shannon in her bedroom very anxious. She'd expected to hear from Nick by now. It had been nearly forty-eight hours since they'd gotten to Wyoming. It didn't usually take this long for Nick to at least call. Sometimes it took a little longer for him to show up, but he always called within twenty-four hours to let them know they were safe. That hadn't happened yet.

Gibbs walked into the room at that moment. He immediately noticed his wife on the bed looking worried. "Hey. What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Everything's fine," Shannon lied.

"Shannon, I know when something's bothering you. Twenty years apart doesn't change that," Gibbs said before walking over and sitting down next to her.

Shannon sighed. "Alright, I'm a little worried that Nick hasn't been in touch yet. He's usually at least called by now. The fact that he hasn't makes me wonder if the Reynosa Cartel is onto him and as a result us."

"Shannon, he's probably hiding like a coward. The bastard lied to you for years. He let ya think I was dead and he did the same to me with you. He doesn't wanna face you," Gibbs said. He wasn't entirely sure that was true, but it was his job to make his wife feel safe and that was what he was going to do.

Shannon smiled at her husband slightly. "I know you too, Jethro. I know when you're lying to reassure me."

Just then they heard a knock at the door. Shannon immediately jumped up and opened up the drawer of the nightstand. She took out her gun and Gibbs' and immediately handed her husband his before leading the way downstairs.

Just as they got downstairs, Kelly and Tim were coming out of the kitchen.

Shannon held up a hand to her kids, silently telling them to stay back. She then looked through the peep hole to see who it was. She sighed in relief when she saw that it was Nick. She quickly put her gun away and opened the door. "It's about time."

"Yeah, well, I had to ward off NCIS," Nick said as he walked inside. "Apparently they get kind of antsy when two of their agents go missing for no apparent reason."

"How close are they?" Gibbs asked.

"Close enough," Nick said before turning to Shannon. "Your mother got in touch with me. Apparently she was questioned about me."

"Oh, thank you for bringing up my mother. I have a message I'd like you to get to her. Actually, it's for both of you," Shannon said before backhanding him hard across the face.

Nick groaned in pain and held his jaw.

"Nice one, Mom," Kelly said with a grin. She too was pissed at Nick for what he did, so she'd enjoyed seeing him get at least a flicker of what was coming to him.

Nick was breathing hard for a few seconds as he waited for the pain to subside. "I guess I should've seen that coming."

Shannon glared daggers at him. "You're lucky I don't shoot your sorry ass! As it is, the only reason I don't is because our survival depends on yours. You told me my husband was dead! You forced my daughter to grow up without a father and my husband to grieve for both of us. And to top it all off, you put a gun to my son's head!"

"I'd personally like to shoot ya anyway. Putting a bullet in your leg or shoulder would leave you okay enough to protect us," Gibbs said with a glare.

"I did what I had to do. Your mother is the one to finance all of this and this is what she wanted. It wasn't personal. And I put the gun to your boy's head to disarm him. He was packing and I didn't feel like getting shot. Given that it was his fault that I had to remove him, I don't feel so bad," Nick said.

"Excuse me?" Tim asked with a glare. He failed to see how any of this was his fault. He didn't even know about the situation until he was reunited with Shannon and Kelly.

"How do you think they found out about you, kid? How do you think they even knew enough to learn about your connection to these two?" Nick asked as he pointed between Shannon and Kelly. "You identified yourself to the Reynosa Cartel on a street in Mexico."

"What?" Kelly asked in confusion.

"I did what I had to do that day. There were drug dealers with guns threatening the lives of dozens of people, including a friend of mine. I did what was necessary to protect them," Tim said.

"Okay, what's going on?" Shannon demanded to know.

Tim sighed. He knew Shannon wasn't going to be impressed with what he did. Oh, she wouldn't blame him or anything, but she would probably be a little annoyed that he put his life at risk. "It was about six months ago. Our forensic scientist was being sent to Mexico to teach a class on cold cases. I was sent as her bodyguard. Abby, that's our forensic specialist, was using the murder of Pedro Hernandez to teach the class."

"That seems a bit much to be coincidental," Shannon said.

"It was. It was a setup. The leader of the Mexican government was Hernandez's son. He's the one that brought them out there," Gibbs said.

"Right. Anyway, Abby decided to take students to the crime scene. I tried to stop her. We were warned to stay away from that area due to the danger, but once Abby gets an idea in her head, there's no talking her out of it. She told me she would go with or without me, so I went.

"She forced you out to an area that was dangerous?" Kelly asked irritable. This woman had made a choice that put her husband in danger. That seriously pissed her off.

"Abby has no concept of the word 'danger'," Gibbs said.

"Go on, Tim," Shannon said.

"We weren't there long before it happened. A truck approached. Abby thought it was more students at first, but my gut told me it wasn't that. I was right. A woman got out followed by a bunch of guys with guns. The woman was Paloma Reynosa," Tim explained.

"You were in shooting distance of the Reynosa Cartel?" Shannon asked uneasily.

Tim nodded. "And I thought I was gonna get shot. Paloma ordered her men to kill all of us. It wasn't until Abby told her that she there on the government's authority that Paloma suggested that she might take her hostage instead. It was then that I saw an out."

"You didn't. You tell me you didn't offer yourself up," Shannon said in a warning tone.

Tim cringed. That tone of voice never boded well for the person it was used against. "I…I didn't have a choice. She was threatening to kill us all. I figured I was dead no matter what, but I could possibly save the others. I identified myself as a federal agent and I offered for her to take me if she'd just let the others go."

"Damn it, Tim, you could've been killed! You realize that's what would've happened had she taken you up on her offer, don't you?" Shannon asked. Her blood was going cold just thinking about what could've happened to Tim. She could've lost him then and there. The idea of that made her just as sick as the idea of losing Kelly.

"Yeah. Like I said, I figured I was dead either way. I just wanted to save Abby and the students. Anyway, it turned out she was never going to kill us or take anyone hostage. She only wanted to send a message to Gibbs by having Abby discover what he'd done to her father," Tim explained.

Shannon sighed. "Okay, I get why you did it. It was an admirable thing to do. That being said, if you ever do anything like that again, I'm going to smack you upside the head so hard it will probably start spinning."

Tim gulped. "Get it."

"As I was saying before, your actions in Mexico were the beginning of how the Cartel found out who you were to these women. Your little meeting in Mexico coincides with you being followed by them. My guess is that Paloma Reynosa was intrigued by you and decided to learn about you. She had you investigated and learned of your marriage to Kelly," Nick sad.

"Back off, Nick. This is not my husband's fault! He had no idea we had anything to do with the Reynosa Cartel," Kelly said. She wasn't about to sit there and listen to her husband get blamed for something that was completely out of his control, something he didn't even know about.

"It would've happened anyway. He's a part of my team. They would've looked into him anyway. If it's anyone's fault, it's yours for not seeing every angle," Gibbs said with a glare. It was this man's job to protect his family. If he'd failed to see a way the Cartel could come at them, it was his fault.

Tim was mildly surprised by Gibbs defending him. The man had been downright hostile to him since finding out he and Kelly were married.

"Agreed. You will stop trying to put this off on my son immediately. Now tell me how close NCIS is to finding us," Shannon ordered.

"Well, they called in a retired agent," Nick said.

"Mike," Gibbs said. He knew it had to be Mike Franks. One of the few things to bring Mike out of retirement was if he thought Gibbs was in trouble.

"Who?" Shannon asked.

"Mike Franks, the agent who was in charge of your case," Gibbs said.

"Yeah, I remember him. It was him I went to when I saw that murder," Shannon said.

"Yeah, well, he's running the investigation. He had your mother brought in twice. According to my contacts, she's currently being held. They know she's involved somehow," Nick asked.

"Do they know about us?" Shannon asked.

"Not as far as I can tell, but they apparently have my face from a traffic camera in DC," Nick said.

"Alright, I have to call them," Gibbs said.

"No, Jethro, you can't," Shannon said.

"Shannon, they're not going to back off unless I tell them to. My people are good. They will figure it out eventually," Gibbs said.

"If you call them, you put everyone in danger, including them. You can't do it. We just have to let this play out. We have no other choice right now," Shannon said.

"Gibbs is right though. They won't give up," Tim said.

"We don't have a choice. Getting in contact with anybody isn't an option. We're just going to have to hope they don't find anything. There's no reason to think they will right now," Shannon said before turning to Nick. "Now are we safe here? Can we start living our lives?"

Nick nodded. "Yes. There's no reason to believe the Cartel is onto you. I brought you a new car and I'll get rid of the old one."

"Good. Do that and get out of here before somebody does shoot you," Shannon said. She was seriously tempted to after all the crap this guy had pulled.

Nick nodded and walked out the door.


End file.
